For an unknown reason, up to 61 prehistoric stone monuments were found in the land of
Lunigiana, a small territory in the northern part of Tuscany. They were made during a long
period, from the III millennium b.C. to the beginning of the historical age, about in VI century b.C. :
The STELAE-STATUES of Lunigiana
We can believe that the monuments found are very few in comparison with the large amount of stelae which are probably still buried under the
woods, the modern villages or within the walls of the old houses. Despite this, the group of statues from Lunigiana can be retained as the
largest, the most homogeneous and full of significance collection in Europe.
The monuments represent men, which always have the dagger, the masculine symbol of power, or women shown with their essential
traits, extremely stylized up to a complete lack of realism.
However their true and intimate meaning will be unknown forever. They could be idols of gods and goddesses (the Mediterranean Dea Mater) or could represent important human beings or
heroes. This last hypothesis seems to be more probable only for the last
monuments, which are all masculine, rich of anatomical details and on which some Etruscan inscriptions were
engraved.
None indication was found concerning any relationship with the funerary cult.
The first stela was found in 1867 at Zignago, in the modern territory of La Spezia: it is certaintly the most enigmatic of the whole Lunigiana group becouse its particular shape which differs from that of all the other
monuments.
During 1886, two small simple rectangular stelae were found at twelve meters under the sea level in the La Spezia
gulf. These monuments, which are now lost, had their face made with a simple U sign and they could be the oldest monuments of the
series. In the second room of the Museum of Pontremoli, the reproduction of one of these two stelae is
shown: it was made following the image reported by old drawings.
The last statues found were Venelia II (1984), Venelia III (1995) and (1996).
