The Golasecca Culture

The Golasecca culture derives its name from the place, on the Corneliane hills, at Monsorino and at Galliasco in the Golasecca area, in which the first finds were made in the 18th century by the abbot Giovan Battista Giani. The culture developed during the first period of the Iron Age, between the IX and the V centuries B.C., in a territory delineated to the east by the course of the river Serio, to the west by that of the Sesia, to the north by the alpine watershed, to the south by the Po.

The areas with the greatest demographic concentrations were those of Bellinzona and Como and additionally that of Basso Verbano, which represented a fundamental port for the passage of goods from the Ticino to Lake Maggiore, and from here to the alpine passes.

The geographical location of the Golasecca people made them the commercial intermediaries between the Etruscans to the south and the Celtic populations beyond the Alps. This position resulted in an enrichment evident above all in the grave goods from the VII and VI centuries B.C., period in which the Golasecca people also acquired the skill of writing, utilising the Etruscan alphabet.