Charles-Antoine Cesari, the Father of Filitosa

In 1946, Charles-Antoine Cesari, originally from the village of Cozzano in the high Taravo, was farming a property of around fifty hectares in Filitosa (a low part of the Taravo valley). The place had always fascinated him. At the heart of a hilly plot of land stood a natural promontory, crossed by the Sardelle stream and planted at the heart of an oak and olive tree forest.

Very quickly, while he was clearing at the foot of the butte, he revealed, strewn here and there, imposing granite blocks. This discovery gripped him, fascinated him. He decided to lift the grey stones with the help of his workmen, and he found himself face to face with what he would later call "the stone man". One of his workmen suggested tying up the "old stones" to make stakes to protect the property. Gazing at these silhouettes from another age, Charles-Antoine Cesari exclaimed in a deep voice : "I have never put a chain round the neck of a man, I'm not going to start with a stone man".

The information reached Pierre Lamotte, then director of Archives for the départements of Corsica. He was the first really to lean towards the discovery, for the prehistoric interest of the region had never until then been considered.

Over a century earlier, in 1839, Prosper Mérimée had been charged by the government with a mission to Corsica. In his position as inspector of Historic Monuments, he had been despatched from Paris, and had criss-crossed the island on the back of a donkey, in order to compile an archaeological inventory. But not a word about Filitosa and its fortified promontory. Without knowing it, he passed by what would become the major archaeological discovery in Corsica.

This anecdote did not plead the case for Charles-Antoine Cesari's discovery. But thanks to his intuition, obstinacy and unwavering faith, everything speeded up. From ignorance, he moved into identification, and what, by the magic of a decisive meeting, would become a steadfast and mutual friendship.

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