Argentiera

The Argentiera mining village is an almost wholly abandoned mining village about 35 miles from Sassari (Sardinia, Italy). In its heyday, it had more than 2,000 inhabitants.

Mining concessions for the extraction of argentiferous lead and zinc had been granted here since the mid-19th century. Given the presence of Domus de Janas, the site of Argentiera was arguably known as early as the Copper Age. Argentiera is an abandoned village, but not entirely. A few families still live there, evidently attracted by a unique location with even more significant tourist potential than mining.

Yet, it remains an unfinished business, with the various attempts at recovery having so far proved vague and inclusive, as witnessed by the endless recovery of the marvellous wooden “laveria” overlooking the sea. Not even the neglect that has characterised the area since the mine closed in 1963 erases the charm of the village, which grew up around the Camillo Marchese square and along the canyon that slides from the mountains towards the San Nicola natural harbour from which the sailboats transferred the extracted ore towards Porto Conte and then to the ports of Northern Europe.

A village that combines a natural enchantment with the remains of a monument to engineering and architectural prowess, resembling the Pozzo Podestà of the Rietto and Calabronis tunnels, works even of Roman origin. ONE