Page 33 - Mediterraneo e dintorni - nr 15

LascaUx cave, a Prehistoric mUseUm

he incredible and fantastic show that suddenly ope-
Tned up before the eyes of four unbelieving boys in the
afternoon of 12 September 1940 is still, after 79 years,
a source of amazement. An amazement that comes to us
live from prehistory. Four friends, Marcel Ravidat, Jac-
ques Marsat, Georges Agnel and Simon Coencas, appa-
rently were playing in the wooded areas of Montignac,
in southwestern France, when - forced to chase their dog
who had strayed into a burrow - they find themselves
inside deep and mysterious cavities.
A few days later, exactly on September 17th, authori-
ties believe it is necessary to create a large hole in the
ground to allow better exploration of the site. This is
how the Lascaux caves are discovered, universally reco-
gnized as the “Sistine Chapel of prehistory” - a perfectly
fitting definition due to the abbot Breuil, professor of
the Collège de France and great expert of wall art - be-
cause of the many artistic images found there on the
walls. Oxen, cows, bison, horses, deer, bears, a rhino, a
unicorn and even a hunter with various weapons and
traps: these are the perfectly recognizable, magnificent-
ly colored representations, incredibly preserved after
17,000 years! A magnificence so surprising that it has
left anyone who has had the great fortune to visit these
ancient “museum rooms” breathless. It is in fact more
than 600 polychrome paintings and graffiti, witnesses
of a high mastery.
After a little more than twenty years from this disco-
very, in 1963 it was necessary to suspend public visits
due to threats to the good conservation of the herita-
ge caused by air, light, gas and bacteria. Those works
had remained intact for so many millennia thanks to
the shadow and the rarefied air, while the sudden and
massive tourist flows represented a serious danger. But
in order not to deprive the world of so much beauty in
1983 it was decided to build, 200 meters away, Lascaux
II, a photocopy site - at least a section of the caves - in
order to welcome visitors, also happy only to admire the
“copies” of those drawings. In 2017 the Lascaux IV, the
futuristic International Center for Rock Art, is created
in Montignac, offering an engaging educational expe-
rience perfectly reproducing the original caves in every
respect. A journey through time and art, with attention
to the smallest details.

queste “sale museali” così antiche. Si tratta infatti di è optato per la realizzazione, a 200 metri di distanza,
oltre 600 dipinti policromi e graffiti, testimoni peren- di Lascaux II, un sito-fotocopia – quanto meno di una
tori di un’alta maestria. sezione delle grotte, la “Sala dei Tori” – al fine di acco-
La sala più grande misura 30 metri per 10 e 7 di altez- gliere i visitatori, contenti anche soltanto di ammirare
za, ed è quella in cui sono affrescati gli animali gigan- le “copie” di quei disegni. Nel 2017 si compie un passo
teschi. Dopo poco più di un ventennio da questa sco- in avanti: viene realizzato a Montignac il Lascaux IV,
perta, nel 1963 è stato necessario sospendere le visite l’avveniristico Centro Internazionale di Arte Rupe-
pubbliche a causa delle minacce alla buona conserva- stre, che offre un’esperienza formativa coinvolgente
zione del patrimonio cagionate dall’aria, dalla luce, riproducendo perfettamente le grotte originali. All’in-
dai gas e dai batteri. Quelle opere si erano mantenute terno del Museo l’atmosfera è umida e buia, i suoni
intatte per così tanti millenni proprio grazie all’ombra ovattati, la temperatura di sedici gradi, le luci ripro-
e all’aria rarefatta, mentre gli improvvisi e massicci ducono lo sfarfallio delle lampade a grasso animale
flussi turistici rappresentavano un serio pericolo. Ma fatte nel Paleolitico. Un viaggio nel tempo e nell’arte
per non privare il mondo di tanta bellezza nel 1983 si curato nei minimi particolari.

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