“Rubber rubber, dumb dumb.”
These words sound familiar, don't they? Yes, we're talking about Easter Island's famous anthropomorphic monoliths, made even more famous by the 2006 film "A Night at the Museum." To see them, you no longer have to fly in person to this island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, or go to the Natural History Museum in New York to admire these pieces of ancient art!
All you have to do is go to Vitorchiano and enjoy the opportunity to admire one of the pieces of history that links the small municipality of Viterbo to Rapa Nui (“Easter Island” in Pasquense).
But what makes a typical work of Polynesian culture in the middle of Tuscia?
The decision to make this work was not made long ago, but only in 1990. The journalist Mario D'amato, wanting to promote the restoration of the Moai on Easter Island, looked for a stone similar to the one used for the original monoliths, namely volcanic tuf. So the municipality of Vitorchiano, as the birthplace of the Peperino (volcanic stone), was chosen as the place to build a perfect copy of the original statue. An agreement was made between the municipal administration and the Peperino quarry "Anselmi" so that the Atan family, originally from Easter Island, could build a Moai identical to those found in their native land, remaining faithful to the method of construction, which was done through the simple use of axes and stones.
The statue in Vitorchiano is still the only Moai statue of original size, present outside Easter Island.
Don't forget to touch his navel: it brings good luck!
