Abandoned mines and ghost towns

Abandoned mines and ghost towns

A walk along ancient paths once used by miners, flanked by high calcareous walls over the seashore, where ships once waited for their precious mineral cargo

“paths surrounded by beige cliffs, brown earth and the blue of the sea

From the Malfidano mine of Buggerru to the ones at Masua and Nebida, in the Iglesias district. A long hike along the old miner trails of the Sulcis-Iglesiente in the company of former miners who today work as tourist guides and will render your day a fascinating adventure of intense emotions.

Driving time: 1 h

Route: 56 km

See map

Malfidano, Buggerru

The mining village covers a wide channel that leads down to the shore: the mine’s machinery sat perched on the edge over the deep blue water. You will enter the remains of the washing stations, made of structures in stone and wood, of archways. A steam locomotive once went through the Henry Gallery, which opens right at the port. A museum devoted to the fascinating history of Buggerru now occupies what was once the carpentry and work shop.

Buggerru

At the northern end of the Iglesiente are the remains of a glorious past, of the mining industry that was the driving force of the economy of the...

Masua, Iglesias

A mining complex facing the shore in front of the lovely Pan di Zucchero (Sugarloaf) stack. You’ll be delighted at the little Porto Flavia tower that sits perched over the water’s edge and, above all, the fascinating tunnel with overhanging pier used in the past to load minerals and transport them to the waiting cargo ships. The site is set in calcareous rock and a symbol of industrial archaeology of the Iglesiente. Inside the Masua complex you can visit Porto Flavia and the museum of mining equipment.

Masua and Porto Flavia

It was a true revolution: more than a mine, it was a port suspended half way up a rock face, from which a very long tunnel begins. This place...

Nebida, Iglesias

The lead and zinc mine was opened in the late 1800s and for fifty years was one of Sardinia’s main mines. The remains of a village, infirmary, office building, worker’s recreation room and an architectural monument, the La Marmora wash station, can still be seen today. There is an extraordinary view over the sea and the distant horizon from the village.