Sardinia’s Geominerary Park: the meeting between nature, history and industry

Sardinia’s Geominerary Park, the historical memory of the island’s mining heritage

The first geo-minerary park in the world, created to enhance and protect the immense mining heritage of Sardinia.

Sardinia is home to a unique park in the world, an extraordinary landmark in the heart of the Mediterranean. The Parco Geominerario Storico e Ambientale preserves the historical memory of the immense mining heritage of the island carried out in contact with the splendid Sardinian nature.

It can be defined as a “deposit” of surprises to be discovered, created to protect, recover and enhance the still visible and present traces of industrial mining archaeology among plants, abandoned workers’ villages, extraction wells, kilometres of tunnels, precious documents and ancient railways.

The Geominerary Park is also an important tool to safeguard and convey the special legacy of universal, historical and environmental values, professional skills, and the tangible and intangible heritage consisting of mining engineering, the peculiar geological context, technical-scientific skills, knowledge, traditions, customs and events related to mining in Sardinia.

The consistency of the mineral deposits and the variety of minerals of the island have attracted, over the centuries, the attention of the peoples of the Mediterranean, giving rise to a remarkable work of metallurgical and mining extraction lasting 9000 years, divided into seven main periods:

• Prehistoric;
• Phoenician – Punic;
• Roman;
• Giudicale and Pisano;
• Aragonese – Spanish;
• Savoia;
• Modern.

The Park, one of the largest and most heterogeneous in Italy, covers eight areas that include a total of about 4800 square kilometres, which falls within the administrative territories of 81 municipalities.

Experience the Park: the sites that can be visited and the itineraries not to be missed

The Geominerary Park is one of the flagship attractions of Sardinia. It is ideal for discovering a new side of the island, rich in history, memory and tradition.

Sixteen sites can be visited:

1. The Cave of Santa Barbara, the patron saint of miners, which is a large natural cave among the oldest in Italy and Europe between Iglesias and Gonnesa;
2. The former mine of Su Zurfuru, which is immersed in an enchanting landscape shaped by woods two kilometres from Fluminimaggiore;
3. The Obsidian Museum of Pau, the only museum in Europe focused exclusively on obsidian, which was inaugurated in 2010;
4. The Nivola Museum in Orani (Nuoro), dedicated to the great artist Constantino Nivola, which contains the most remarkable collection of his works;
5. The Museum of Mining Arts in Iglesias, which houses explosives, machines used for drilling and excavation, and equipment for transporting material;
6. The Rosas Mine in Narcao, which is the second oldest mining concession on the island;
7. Porto Flavia, Masua Mine, which is an incredible work of mining engineering unique in the world;
8. The Coal Museum of Carbonia, inside the Great Mine of Serbariu, with the winch room, the lamp shop and the underground gallery;
9. The Geo Museum Monte Arci “Stefano Incani” in Masullas, whose five exhibition rooms are dedicated to the geology of the homonymous mountain;
10. The Monteponi Mine in Iglesias, which is the guardian of the most significant pages of the island’s mining history;
11. The Great Mine of Serbariu, which is linked to the production project implemented by Mussolini’s government to provide energy independence to Italy;
12. The Su Suergiu Mine, between the territories of Villasalto and Armungia, which is a remarkable antimony mine that’s been active for eighty years and the largest producer of this precious mineral;
13. The Argentiera Mine along the Murra coast in the territory of Sassari, which was made famous by the ambitions of wealth of Honoré de Balzac;
14. The Funtana Raminosa Mine, in central Sardinia in Gadoni (Nuoro), where the first mining evidence dates back to the Copper Age;
15. The Henry Gallery, the most important structure of the Planu Sartu Mine (Buggerru, Iglesiente Area), which was built for the transport, by means of a steam train, of copper and zinc from the extraction sites to the Buggerru laundries;
16. The Great Mine of Montevecchio which, in its 143 years of activity, cultivated the richest bundle of zinc and lead in the entire sector.

Lovers of hiking and trekking can also admire the beauty of the Park and its attractions by following seven itineraries of great interest:

1. The white gold of the Sardinians: between the reliefs of Monte Gonare and Nuorese, the Sa Matta talc mine catches the eye, just before Orani, with the majestic open excavations;
2. The paths of Obsidian: along the eastern slope of Monte Arci, not to be missed is the quarry of Conca Cannas where an obsidian vein is clearly visible;
3. Via dell’Argento: the first stop is the mine of Baccu Arrodas, then continue to San Vito a Monte Narba and finally to Giovanni Bonu where some accesses are still walkable with the utmost attention;
4. The Mining Trail of Santa Barbara: from Iglesias, it winds in a ring along the paths and tracks beaten by miners from the Neolithic to the twentieth century;
5. “Mines and Deer”: starting from San Gavino, on foot or by mountain bike, the route reaches Montevecchio following the ancient railway line;
6. Mines of Barbagia: on board the Trenino Verde, along the Mandas-Seui, in the thick of the vegetation do not miss the opportunity to see the Art Nouveau façade of the anthracite processing plant of the Corongiu Mine;
7. “Between sea, woods and mines”: the Inglesiente Area gives a spectacular coastline with fabulous beaches, majestic cliffs, and a hinterland designed by thick woods dotted with suggestive mines.

Would you like to discover the extraordinary Geominerary Park of Sardinia and enjoy a holiday full of elegance and charm? Book a stay at Palazzo Doglio in Cagliari