Montevecchio is one of the most ancient mining sites in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The site is located in the south west of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

, in the

Province of South Sardinia The Province of South Sardinia ( it, provincia del Sud Sardegna; sc, provìntzia de Sud Sardigna) is an Italian province of Sardinia instituted on 4 February 2016. It includes the suppressed provinces of Province of Carbonia-Iglesias, Carbonia- ...

. The village of Montevecchio (''Gennas Serapis'' in

Sardinian language Sardinian or Sard ( , or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Many Romance linguists consider it the language that is closest to Latin among all its genealogica ...

) is a

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

of the municipality of

Guspini Guspini (Gùspini in Sardinian) is a town and ''comune'' of about 12,000 inhabitants in west Sardinia (Italy), in the province of South Sardinia. It is from the capital Cagliari and from the railway station at San Gavino Monreale. Close to Gusp ...

, while the mines are situated in the municipalities of both Arbus and

History

The extraction of minerals in the area of Montevecchio dates back to the

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n and Roman times. In 1842, modern industrial mining activity started in the area, thanks to the arrival of entrepreneurs such as Giovanni Antonio Pischedda and Giovanni Antonio Sanna. Subsequently, the Montecatini company took over the extractive activities. At its height, the mining village was inhabited by more than 3000 people. The mines of Montevecchio stopped their activities in 1991. The mines of Montevecchio are now an important site of

industrial archaeology Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, sites, infrastructure, docu ...

, part of the Parco Geominerario Storico ed Ambientale della Sardegna.Official Website of the Institution Parco Geominerario della Sardegna
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References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* Angei, Luca, ''Arbus tra storia e leggenda. Usanze e vita di un popolo'', Cesmet, Napoli, 1995 * Caddeo, Antonello, ''Arbus. Immagini e ricordi dal passato'', Editar, Cagliari, 1994 * Piras, Aldo, ''Pietro Leo e Raimondo Garau. Tempi e luoghi'', Garau, Guspini, 2003

External links

Montevecchio Mines

Official Website of the Institution Parco Geominerario della Sardegna

Official Website of the Medio Campidano Province (in English)
{{Authority control Province of South Sardinia Buildings and structures in Sardinia Mining in Italy Tourist attractions in Sardinia Museums in Sardinia Mining museums

History

See also

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links