-> Route Carbonia Iglesias

CARBONIA IGLESIAS PROVINCE

Iglesias - Carbonia - Sant’Antioco Calasetta - Tratalias - Villaperuccio

Time: one day - Lenght: about 110 km

 
Phoenician-Punic fortified settlement of Monte Sirai, Carbonia.

A long tree-lined avenue leads to the town centre of Iglesias, and this takes you to Piazza Sella, where there is the Monument to Quintino Sella by Giuseppe Sartorio (1885) and, in nearby Piazza Oberdan, the war memorial by Francesco Ciusa (1928). Head into the historical centre to Piazza del Municipio, where there is the Gothic cathedral of Santa Chiara, which was built before 1284-85 and completed by 1288, as we can see from the inscriptions. At the side of the Town Hall follow Via Satta and Via Don Minzoni, turning right at the end of this into Via Roma. At civic number 45 there is the Museo dell’arte mineraria (Mining Art Museum), which preserves examples and instruments that have made the history of the Iglesiente mines: period photographs, plastic models and original machines. Inside you can visit an authentic gallery. If you head north along Via Roma and turn left into Via Cattaneo, an urban stretch of the 126 state road for Carbonia and Sant’Antioco, you leave Iglesias, past the nineteenth-century quarter and roads, towards the abandoned mining plants, where the metalliferous complex of Monteponi stands out on the right. The age-old activity, which made it one of the most important centres in Italy for the extraction of lead and zinc minerals, is documented by the importance of the plants and the number of dumps.

Don’t miss the fresco entitled La miniera (The mine) (1950) by Aligi Sassu in the guestrooms, and the abandoned mining villages of Sa Macchina Beccia and Seddas Moddizzis. Following the SS 126 south again you easily come to Carbonia after about 20 Km. The small town, which is one of the most characteristic examples of a "founded town", was built in just over two years and inaugurated by Mussolini in 1938.

The typical fascist building centres around Via Roma, where there is the square of the same name that is characteristic for its east-facing terrace arrangement; it is the main centre, around which there are the most important buildings: the town hall, the church, the Littoria Tower and the "dopolavoro" (Fascist institution that organised workers’ free time activities). The church of San Ponziano is particularly interesting; it was dedicated to the Roman pope in the 3rd century, who was condemned to hard labour in the Iglesiente mines and consequently became the protector of the town and coal. Following the SS 126 south, continue for about twenty kilometres until you reach the town centre of Sant’Antioco, leaving the important fortified centre of Monte Sirai on the right, which was built in the Phoenician-Punic age on top of a hill as an excellent strategic point for controlling the area.

The fortress was founded by the Phoenicians of Sulki, modern day Sant’Antioco, a port centre, which maintained its importance in Roman and Punic times. The site was abandoned for a long time because of raids carried out by the Saracen, which led to the disappearance of monumental ruins, except for the acropolis (where a pair of stone lions was found) and the funeral area, which includes Phoenician-Punic chamber tombs and the tophet (a place of sacrifice and burial for children and small animals).

The finds, which are preserved in the newly opened Antiquarium, come from the ancient city. The church of Sant’Antioco stands in the historical centre; it was dedicated to the local martyr and built on top of Phoenician-Punic age connected chamber tombs that were turned into catacombs. The style of the church is Byzantine and it preserves fragments of marble sculptures dating back to between the 6th and 11th century. A precious silver shrine made by Sisinnio Barrai from Cagliari in 1615 to keep the cranium of Saint Antioco is also preserved inside. The route continues to the island’s second municipality, Calasetta, which is reached after about 10 Km. In Via Savoia there is the Museo d’Arte Contemporanea(Contemporary Art Museum) set up inside the municipal abattoir, which has not been used for over forty years and which was renovated for the occasion. The exhibition is made up of the donation by "Ermanno and Maria Rita Leinardi", with over 109 works by 103 artists from all over the world, which were collected over a period of forty years thanks to the artist Ermanno Leinardi’s involvement in the international art scene.

This collection differs from the island’s other collections because of the important presence of informal, concrete, constructivist and abstract works of art. Besides local artists, there are also many foreign artists: Sergej Poliakof, Sonia Delaunay, Jean Leppien, Hisiao Chin, Yves Popet, J.F. Dubreuil, Claude Pasquer, Charles Bezie and many others. There are also many Italian artists, who are important from a historical point of view: Giuseppe Capogrossi, Lucio Fontana, Bice Lazzari, Mauro Reggiani, Mario Radice, Luigi Veronesi, Piero Dorazio, Paolo Minoli, Achille Pace and Nicola Carrino. Going back to Sant’Antioco, turn right for Palmas after about 15 Km and head for Tratalias; if you follow signs you will come to the old built-up area where there is the Romanesque cathedral of Santa Maria, which was erected between 1213 and 1282 as a centre for the diocese of  Sulcis, after Sant’Antioco and before Iglesias. Continue from Tratalias to Villaperuccio to visit the Prehistoric necropolis of Montessu, which is one of the greatest funeral areas in Sardinia at Domus de Janas, with graffiti and traces of paintings picturesquely dug into a rocky ridge.