As early as 1860 Desor thought he had discovered indications of a
palafitte in Lake Maggiore,[39] but this was subsequently disproved,
and up to the present time no remains of these ancient dwellings have
been found in this lake. The explanation of their absence in the
larger lakes of Italy is to be found in the physical conditions of
these glacial and rock-cut basins, which, owing to the depth of water
and their rapidly-shelving shores, afford no holding for piles.
Stoppani, in his first exploratory tour, turned his attention to Lago
di Lecco as, in his opinion, a suitable locality, and having found
a group of piles half-way between the Bridge of Lecco and Malgrate
stretching towards the western shore, he concluded this was "una bella
palafitta a cui nulla mancherebbe per ritrarre perfettamente quelle
della età del bronzo." The only resemblance of this supposed palafitte
to those of the Bronze Age was the fact that the tops of the piles
projected 1 or 2 feet above the lake mud, as no relics of any kind
were found. Further researches have not confirmed the genuineness
of this palafitte, and Regazzoni throws out the hint that the piles
observed by Stoppani might be the work of modern fishermen, who are in
the habit of inserting stakes for fixing their nets and which, among
themselves, go under the name of _serrade_ or _gueglie_. (B. 67 and
327, p. 70.)