For more than two thousand years Sardinia was an island of miners. The Phoenicians and Romans came for lead and silver, the Pisans founded a silver town in the Middle Ages, and in the 19th and 20th centuries the Sulcis-Iglesiente became one of Europe's most important mining districts, with dozens of lead, zinc and coal mines, workers' villages, railways and ports. Then, in the second half of the 20th century, the mines closed one after another, leaving industrial landscapes of extraordinary beauty amid wild nature.
This seven-day itinerary crosses Sardinia's Historical and Environmental Geomining Park from the Sulcis to the Costa Verde, ending at Argentiera in the Nurra. You go inside tunnels, visit ore-washing plants and villages, descend into caves discovered by miners and, between one mine and the next, swim at some of the island's loveliest and least crowded beaches. See also our page on the Sulcis Iglesiente.
Itinerary at a glance
- Duration: 7 days, 6 nights
- Distance: about 500 km, Cagliari to Alghero
- Transport: hire car
- Best time: April to June and September to October; in summer alternate mines and beaches
- Indicative budget: about €900 per person sharing a double room, flights and ferries excluded
- Ideal for: lovers of history and industrial archaeology, families with older children, photographers
- Cagliari: arrival
- Iglesias: the silver town and Monteponi
- Porto Flavia: the port inside the rock
- Nebida: the Lamarmora washing plant
- Buggerru: Galleria Henry
- Carbonia: the Serbariu coal mine
- Fluminimaggiore: the Temple of Antas and Su Mannau
- Montevecchio: the mine and the management building
- Piscinas: Ingurtosu and the dunes
- Argentiera: the mine by the sea in the Nurra
Sardinia's mines in brief
The Sulcis-Iglesiente is one of the oldest lands in Europe, with rocks more than five hundred million years old and rich deposits of lead, zinc and silver. In the Middle Ages the Pisans founded Villa di Chiesa, today's Iglesias, and regulated its mining with a code of laws, the Breve. In the 19th and 20th centuries Italian, French, Belgian and British companies arrived, and with them thousands of workers from all over the island. The work was gruelling, and in 1904 at Buggerru the killing of several miners during a protest led to Italy's first general strike. After the closures, the Geomining Park was established in 2001, and today it protects eight areas across the island. See also our page on Sardinian history.
- 13th centuryThe Pisans found Villa di Chiesa, the silver town
- 1865Galleria Henry is dug at Buggerru
- 1904The Buggerru massacre leads to Italy's first general strike
- 1924Porto Flavia opens
- 1938Carbonia, the coal town, is founded
- 1991The Montevecchio mine closes
- 2001Sardinia's Geomining Park is established
Day 1: Iglesias and Monteponi
From Cagliari it is about an hour to Iglesias. The old town, with its Pisan walls, the cathedral of Santa Chiara and the squares where people stroll in the evening, keeps the feel of a small, middle-class mining town. Visit the Mining Art Museum, in the mining technical school, with machinery, tools and a reconstructed teaching tunnel. In the afternoon go up to the Monteponi mine, just outside town, with its shafts, washing plants and large 19th-century buildings.
Where to stay: in Iglesias or on the Nebida and Masua coast, for three nights.
Day 2: Porto Flavia, Nebida and Buggerru
The most spectacular day. At Masua, facing the Pan di Zucchero sea stack, visit Porto Flavia: built in 1924 by the engineer Cesare Vecelli, who named it after his daughter, it is a port carved into the cliff, with two tunnels one above the other and huge internal silos from which ore was loaded straight onto ships by a conveyor belt hanging over the sea. Visits are guided and must be booked. A little further south, at Nebida, the Lamarmora washing plant overlooks the sea like a ruined temple. In the afternoon drive up the coast to Buggerru for Galleria Henry, a late 19th-century railway tunnel running inside the cliff, with windows opening onto the sea. At sunset, a swim at Cala Domestica.
Day 3: Carbonia and the Serbariu coal mine
Drive down to Carbonia (about half an hour), a town founded in 1938 to house coal miners, with a rationalist street plan that is still easy to read. At the Grande Miniera di Serbariu, the Coal Museum tells the story of miners' lives in the lamp room, the winding-engine hall and an underground tunnel. In the afternoon visit the mining village of Rosas, at Narcao, now an eco-museum with a restored washing plant and rooms in the old miners' houses. If you have time, add Monte Sirai, the Phoenician-Punic fortress above Carbonia: see the Punic and Roman itinerary.
Day 4: Fluminimaggiore, Antas and Su Mannau
Head north to Fluminimaggiore (about an hour). In the Antas valley stands the Temple of Antas, dedicated by the Romans to Sardus Pater, the god of the Sardinians, on a Punic and Nuragic sacred site: its columns in the middle of the woods make it one of the island's most evocative places. Nearby, the Su Mannau cave has a visitor route among small lakes and formations. In the afternoon continue to the Costa Verde and Montevecchio (about an hour).
Where to stay: in Montevecchio, Arbus or Guspini, for two nights.
Day 5: Montevecchio, Ingurtosu and the Piscinas dunes
Montevecchio, between Guspini and Arbus, was one of Europe's largest lead and zinc mines and closed in 1991. Visit the management building, with its frescoed halls, and the shaft sites, including the Sant'Antonio shaft. In the afternoon take the dirt road down to the abandoned village of Ingurtosu and the Brassey washing plant at Naracauli, as far as the Piscinas dunes, among the highest in Europe, with an open, wild sea. See the Costa Verde.
Day 6: towards the Nurra
A travel day along the main highway to Sassari and the Nurra (about three hours). On the way you can stop in Oristano or, if you like archaeology, at the ruins of Tharros. In the afternoon you reach the north-west coast and swim at Porto Ferro, among Spanish towers and golden sand.
Where to stay: in Alghero or Stintino.
Day 7: Argentiera
Argentiera, in the municipality of Sassari, takes its name from the silver mines already worked by the Romans. The mine closed in 1963, and the village, with its large wooden washing plant overlooking a small bay, is now a quiet, photogenic place, partly restored. Wander among the buildings and take a last swim in the cove. Then drive back to Alghero airport (about forty minutes).
How much it costs
| Item | Indicative cost per person |
|---|---|
| Accommodation, 6 nights sharing a double room (mid-range hotels and B&Bs) | €300-450 |
| Hire car for 7 days shared by two, plus fuel | €160-230 |
| Admissions and guided tours (Porto Flavia, Galleria Henry, Coal Museum, Rosas, Antas, Su Mannau, Montevecchio) | €60-90 |
| Meals | €210-280 |
| Total | about €730-1,050, flights and ferries excluded |
To save money: some sites offer combined tickets, and out of season coastal accommodation costs much less. Pick up the car in Cagliari and drop it in Alghero, checking the one-way fee. See car hire.
Practical information
- Bookings: Porto Flavia, Galleria Henry and the Montevecchio shafts can only be visited with a guide at set times; book ahead, especially in summer and at weekends.
- Clothing: inside the tunnels the temperature stays around 15-18 °C even in summer; bring a sweater and closed shoes. Helmets are provided.
- Opening times: many sites close one or two days a week and cut their hours in winter; always check first.
- Roads: the road from Ingurtosu down to Piscinas is partly unpaved, but fine for an ordinary car driven slowly.
Variations
- The Santa Barbara Mining Trail: a walking loop of about 500 kilometres, in around thirty stages, through the mines of the Sulcis-Iglesiente, starting from Iglesias. See hiking in Sardinia.
- The Santa Barbara cave: discovered by miners in 1952 inside the San Giovanni mine near Iglesias, its walls covered in crystals; it opens only at certain times of year.
- Sant'Antioco and Carloforte: from the Sulcis the islands are a short drive away; see the smaller islands itinerary.
What to read before you go
A guide to Sardinia's Geomining Park, a guide to the Santa Barbara Mining Trail and a book on the history of the Sulcis-Iglesiente mines. See also our page on Sardinian culture.
Final tips
- Pace: no more than two guided tours a day; leave time for the sea between mines.
- Combinations: from the Sulcis you can link up with the Punic and Roman itinerary (Sulky, Monte Sirai, Nora) and the smaller islands itinerary; from the Campidano with the wine and food itinerary.
- A tip: at Porto Flavia, ask for the late-afternoon tour; when the tunnel opens onto the sea, the Pan di Zucchero glows orange.
Where to stay
Tours and activities in Sardinia
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