Slowly between sea, dunes and mines

CAGLIARI - Landscapes rich in color and lights, dunes, cliffs overlooking the sea, the suggestive contemplation in front of the Sugar Loaf or the forests of the Marganai with its boundless horizons. Then wells, tunnels, ghost villages, tracks, trolleys, laundries, signs of disused mining activity, in a mining area that preserves millenary traces with large nuragic settlements. To testify how that mineral has always generated wealth. The mining route of Santa Barbara, in the Sulcis Iglesiente Guspinese, returns to being a destination for excursion pilgrims. To promote the recovery after the lockdown, a media and social campaign started announcing bed and breakfast at discounted rates from June to September in facilities along the way that have an agreement with the Foundation.
    The formula is that of the donative, with free offer. You can stay overnight by delivering a voucher provided together with the credential stamped by the Foundation before departure. "Accommodation facilities are guaranteed coverage of up to 15 euros per night, the Foundation covers costs if the offer is lower - President Giampiero Pinna explains to ANSA - everything will take place in compliance with anti-Covid safety standards" . But for pilgrims there are also the 'posadas' set up by the Foundation through the recovery of old houses of miners and managers, one above all, "Monti Mannu", immersed in the forest of the homonymous forest. The partnership that manages the route focuses on proximity tourism but aims to capture the interest of Italians and foreigners to make known the only path on the island included in the National Atlas of the Paths. And that in a social poll it got the better of 45 others in Italy.
    "We hope to be able to reconfirm the offer for the whole year and for 2021", is the hope of Pinna. Meanwhile the second edition of the Guide is ready. "The mayors of the Municipalities involved believe in the Way, an extraordinary tool for relaunching the area in terms of slow and sustainable tourism - underlines the Foundation president - we joined as founding members together with the Pozzo Sella association and are now launching an appeal to private individuals for joining our campaign. " Meanwhile, the first pilgrims have already arrived to enjoy this journey of faith and journey in memory, and not only the mining epic, 500 km long with 30 stages that help to retrace 8 thousand years of history. "We have lived underground for a long time. Only now - Pinna confesses - do we notice the heritage that we had under our eyes on the surface".
    Kilometer after kilometer is a continuous repetition of unique scenarios, where the 26 places of worship dedicated to Santa Barbara, patron saint of miners, act as a red thread. Along the way you meet the imposing dunes of Scivu-Piscinas, mining engineering works such as Porto Flavia, overlooking the blue waters of Nebida. "There are still many uniquenesses: the Pozzo Sella, designed by Quintino Sella, today the largest museum of mine workshops in Italy, the underground cathedral in the Grotta di Santa Barbara, the richness of the geological heritage - says Pinna - And in the locality Canal Grande, between Masua and Cala Domestica, you can then admire in the oldest rocks of Italy the fossil finds of the first forms of life that appeared on our planet ". Again: "The path crosses the cave of San Giovanni in Domusnovas for almost a kilometer, where wagons used to transport minerals used to pass". A wide choice of itineraries, anyone can find the one that best suits their strengths and legs, sensitivity and taste. (HANDLE).