Canegrate culture

[4][5] The name comes from the locality of Canegrate in Lombardy, south of Legnano and 25 km north of Milan, where Guido Sutermeister discovered important archaeological finds (approximately 50 tombs with ceramics and metallic objects).

[14][15] The origins of the Orobii, a population localized by classical writers in these areas that founded the town of Como, have been linked to the Canegrate culture.

Since ancient times, the inhabitants of Olona Valley lived mainly away from the river, on higher ground that certainly would not have been affected by seasonal floods.

[16] The most significant archaeological finds, from prehistory until Roman rule, have been discovered along the edges of the Olona Valley, and the necropolis connected to the culture of Canegrate was not an exception.

[21] The bronze furnishings deposited with the ashes (collars, pins and rings[6]) are not gifts to the deceased, but objects belonging to the same.

[22] Given the abundance of findings, it was possible to identify the general cultural and social aspects of the populations that belonged to this prehistoric civilization.

[6] From the findings discovered in Canegrate, it can be inferred that the populations that lived there led a rather harsh existence and had a decidedly short average life.

During the excavations, which took place in the mid-1980s, furnishings from the late Bronze Age (mostly vessel fragments) were also brought to light.