L’Invallicata is a locality about 3 km from the village of Campana and is a place shrouded in mystery. Here you will find the Stones of Invallicata or the Stone Giants, ancient megaliths whose dating and nature are unknown. According to some hypotheses, the statues were created by human hands, while others suggest that their particular shapes were molded by atmospheric agents.
The enormous sculptures of Invallicata are made of local stone, rediscovered and fenced off only a few years ago. The formations were already known in the past, as reported in the 17th-century writings of Bishop Francesco Marino, who described one of the sculptures as "the great colossus fallen to the ground due to earthquakes."
Another testimony is found in a 1603 map of Calabria, where Incavallicata is defined as the "Cozzo dei Giganti."
Of what was defined as the “Great Colossus,” today only a little more than the base remains, with an undefined shape. The other still shows the typical shape of an elephant.
One of the main theories about their creation states that the two statues were made during the time when Pyrrhus, the Alexandrian leader, came to Italy, bringing elephants to Calabria for the first time. Another theory suggests that the statues are prehistoric sculptures, with the elephant being a reproduction of a specimen of Elephas Antiquus, a pachyderm that lived towards the end of the Pleistocene in southern Italy, as evidenced by the finds in the municipality of Rotonda in the Pollino Park.
The mystery surrounding the Stone Giants has made them the protagonists of “The Ancient Megaliths of Sila,” a 2025 documentary by Delta Star Pictures, created with the collaboration of experts such as Ilaria Cristofaro (CNR | ISPC researcher), Domenico Canino (architect and scholar), Daniele Marino (art historian), and Agostino Chiarello (mayor of Campana). The documentary will be distributed not only in Italy but also in the United States, England, and Japan.
Other places to explore:
- Village of Campana
- Sila National Park
- Romito Cave - Papasidero - Pollino National Park
