In Colleferro, a town south of the capital, the “Palaeodoxodon antiquus” or simply the elephas antiquus whose age varies between 300 and 350 thousand years is kept in the municipal museum. A unique find that aroused the interest of the Minister of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Dario Franceschini who yesterday wanted to appreciate the majestic creature up close.
The history of the Colleferrino elephas began in 2000 with the discovery of a tusk of about 4 meters and then, as other remains, a mandible, the skull, some ribs, remains collected in a patch of earth, together with those of other animals , a sign that this was the place of death of the giant animal which was 4 meters high.
Before arriving at the municipal archaeological museum, he visited another historical and cultural district consisting of the anti-aircraft shelters that run through the Colleferrino subsoil for about 5 kilometers and the Marconi telecommunications museum which houses the incredible collection of General Francesco Cremona, the most great collection perhaps existing in the world, 1200 pieces, of historical telecommunication devices with different rarities and uniqueness.
The elephas is returning to its splendor thanks to the technicians coordinated by the scientific referent of the museum center of the La Sapienza University Dr. Caterina Giovinazzo. At the moment the reconstruction has reached 60%. Once in the hall the minister was greeted with the music of the students of the music laboratory of the Leonardo da Vinci middle school. Before the minister to speak was the director of the cement plant of Colleferro of Italcementi engineer Lorenzo Metullio. Italcementi in the reconstruction of the Colleferrino elephas had a fundamental role having sponsored the work, as in the past for the recovery of the castle of Piombinara.
The Minister said:
“We are working to ensure that it is not only the big cities that drive tourism. There is the paradox of touristy overcrowded places and others not far away that are unable to attract them despite having great cultural and tourist potential. Here in Colleferro I had the opportunity to visit the unique heritage of air-raid shelters. Then the incredible collection of General Cremona which we must avoid fragmenting ”. But the fragmentation can only be avoided by his ministry because given the high economic value of the collection that the Municipality certainly cannot take charge of the purchase ”.
