The Prehistoric "Catanzaro": Heart of Routes, Exchanges, and Innovation Between East and West
Contenuto dell'articolo
Located in a strategic area of the Mediterranean, dominating the narrowest isthmus in Italy and the routes between East and West, Catanzaro and its territory were the stage for prehistoric settlements and trade that anticipated – in duration and importance – the cosmopolitan role of the city in the following millennia.
Paleolithic Catanzaro (600,000–20,000 BC): the most remote origins
Traces of human presence already appear in the Lower Paleolithic (600,000–120,000 BC), evidenced by the discovery – in the Pirivoli district (north area, Gagliano) – of an almond-shaped hand axe, a stone artifact symbolizing the oldest human presence.
The men of the Upper Paleolithic (20,000 BC) also left their traces in the Grotta di Cavorà: rock engravings and a slab with a stylized figure of a man with a bow, evidence of the first hunter-artists of Calabria.
The Ionian-Sila axis: an ancient connection route
Since the Paleolithic era, a natural axis is found between the Ionian coast, the Sila, and the valleys of the Corace – a true strategic hub that will remain constant for millennia both for settled peoples and for those in transit.
Neolithic Catanzaro: industrial district and commercial hub
In the Neolithic period (7,000–3,300 BC), Catanzaro became the most active and influential center in Calabria and one of the most important in the southern regions:
- Technology and lithic industry: Development of advanced tools (polished axes, knives, awls, maces).
Preference for quality stones: flints, jasper, volcanic obsidian from the Aeolian Islands, but above all the "green stone of Calabria," of which the Corace valley was very rich.
These materials were processed in real lithic workshops – like that of Pirivoli – and spread throughout the Mediterranean.
- Trade and prehistoric routes: The position at the crossroads of two natural axes (east-west isthmus and north-south Corace–Crati) boosted the first maritime and land trades.
Ships departed from the Corace exporting lithic products to the Adriatic coasts (Valdiaspro), while obsidian and ornamental objects arrived from Sicily and the Aeolian Islands.
The transit of raw materials, tools, and technologies made the Catanzaro area an intercultural laboratory avant la lettre.
- Settlements and districts: The Neolithic city developed in a polycentric way: hills and fortresses of Pirivoli, Petrusa (north of Gagli...
