Esattamente dieci anni fa, e per la precisione il 27 giugno del 2011, l’UNESCO inseriva nel Patrimonio mondiale dell’umanità 111 siti palafitticoli preistorici dell’arco alpino. 56 di essi si trovano in Svizzera, gli altri in Germania, Francia, Italia, Austria e Slovenia.
I siti annoverati nella lista stanno però anche a rappresentare tutti i circa 1'000 antichi insediamenti su palafitte finora conosciuti in territorio alpino e che vanno dal neolitico all’età del bronzo.
Molti ritrovamenti sono oggi poco o per nulla visibili, perché si trovano sotto la superficie dell’acqua, in laghi o in zone paludose. Ma proprio l’acqua ha permesso di conservare in modo eccezionale reperti che ci aprono una finestra sulla vita dei nostri antenati, fra il 5000 e il 500 a.C. Sono una testimonianza preziosa dell’origine e della evoluzione delle società agricole alpine.
In Svizzera, a nord delle Alpi, i siti palafitticoli preistorici sono molto diffusi.
Un cantone che da solo ne conta più di 70 - sette dei quali sulla lista UNESCO - è Zurigo. E se ne trovano anche nel centro della più grande città svizzera.
Saul Toppi
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