Sassi Ritti

The small complex of Sassi Ritti represents one of the most suggestive and ancient places of worship of the populations that inhabited the island during the Metal Ages.

It is an important testimony of Elban megalithism, as it hosts a unique complex of aniconic menhirs, that is, without decorations or sculpted images, of varying heights. The monoliths were typically placed along the north-south axis: this arrangement may indicate an intention to allow the sun rays to constantly illuminate, throughout the day, the larger sides of the monoliths.

The Sassi Ritti likely had a ritual function related to the cult of the sun, similar to what occurred at megalithic sites in southern Sardinia (Pranu Mutteddu) and southern Corsica (Cauria and Palaggiu), where these alignments of menhirs, often anthropomorphic and decorated, are called "filarate." In the Sassi Ritti area, there is a marked dispersion of obsidian chips and blades from the quarries of Mount Arci in Sardinia. It is plausible that the Neolithic communities of central-eastern Sardinia introduced megalithic culture to the Island of Elba.

The chronology of the Elban complex should be traced to a period between the 3rd and 2nd millennium BC, within the context of the Middle and Late Neolithic. The site, full of charm, is located on a plateau from which there is a wonderful view of the island of Montecristo.