The Historical and Environmental Geomining Park of Sardinia is a ministerial institution that was established in 2001 (Ministerial Decree of October 16, 2001). It is in fact, the result of work begun many years ago by scholars and people who loved their territory and understood the value and potential of the great technical, scientific and cultural heritage represented by the ultra-millenary mining epic of Sardinia. The founding regulation is included in the State Finance Law L.388/2000 and identifies a Consortium as the managing body, similar to the Bodies and research institutes referred to in L.168/89, and does not use the framework law on protected areas n.394/91. It also provides a fixed budget for its management. In 2004, the Park Consortium adopted its first Statute.

In the autumn of 1997, the General Assembly of UNESCO, with a unanimous vote of 170 delegates, recognized the Geomining Park as the first Park of the newly born world network of UNESCO geosites. Recognition unfortunately lost because the UNESCO project of the world network of geosites was no longer pursued by very will of the Organization. In 1998, UNESCO, the Italian Government, the Sardinian Region, Sardinian Universities and EMSA, signed the Charter of Cagliari, an important document that laid out the basic principles for establishing the Park as the objectives to be pursued.

After 15 years from its establishment, a reform of the Park has taken place, with the new DM of September 8th 2016, in agreement with the ministries as well as with the Regional Government and the Park Community.

The Historical and Environmental Geomining Park of Sardinia is in any case the first example in the world of this kind of parks and is also one of the largest and most heterogeneous national parks in Italy. It is unique in the Mediterranean for its extraordinary geological, environmental and landscape peculiarities, to which are associated the value and potential of the great technical, scientific and cultural heritage represented by the ultra-millenary mining epic of Sardinia.

On the Island it is possible to identify areas of higher mining density, which together tell a story of almost 9,000 years of subsoil resource exploitation according to a chronological evolution of how this has developed over time and characterized by as many as seven main periods: 1) Prehistoric; 2) Phoenician-Punic; 3) Roman; 4) Judicial and Pisan; 5) Aragonese-Spanish; 6) Piedmontese with the Savoy; 7) Modern.

The flourishing of all this mining activity also produced significant technological development, which saw the creation of new innovative machinery and patents, much of which was the result of the intelligence and expertise of the technicians who worked there.

The almost total abandonment of the mining sector in Sardinia has left an important and unusual legacy of highly peculiar universal, historical and environmental values, documents and archives, infrastructures, machinery, buildings, professional skills, human values, all within a context of truly extraordinary natural landscapes that represent a unique cultural identity to be safeguarded and transmitted.

The Historical and Environmental Geomining Park of Sardinia is a vehicle for universal values and a tool to protect and safeguard the entire tangible and intangible heritage. This includes the geological context, the technical-scientific and mining engineering heritage, the industrial archaeology heritage, and the documentary heritage of the works, settlements, traditions, knowledge, customs, and human events related to mining. The Park’s objective is the safeguard and growth of the current realities of the different territories by promoting the economy and the social and cultural progress of local communities, guaranteeing this vast heritage for future generations.

Development of mining in Sardinia over the millennia

Sardinia has always attracted the interest of Mediterranean peoples due to the presence of mineral resources.

The variety of minerals and the consistency of the metal ore deposits have given rise to a mining and metallurgical activity that has been ongoing for about 9,000 years. This activity can be divided into seven main periods, chronologically ordered as follows: 1) Prehistoric; 2) Phoenician-Punic; 3) Roman; 4) Giudicale and Pisan; 5) Aragonese-Spanish; 6) Savoy; 7) Modern.

Click here to learn more about the history of mining in Sardinia

Historical photographs: Historical Archive of the Municipality of Iglesias

Photographs from the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari with the permission of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism - Museum Hub of Sardinia