Porto Flavia is a sea harbor in Iglesias, famous for its beautiful shingle beach, spruce forest and picturesque cliff views, including the imposing 133m high limestone cliff in the Pan di Zucchero Sea. This area has long attracted spear fishing enthusiasts and families with children who spend time here swimming and sunbathing.
But the main attraction of Porto Flavia is the mine, built in 1924. A system of tunnels and storage was created to quickly load ore onto ships. It was designed by the engineer Cesare Vecelli, who named this harbor after his youngest daughter Flavia.
This theme is usually illustrated with a similar title photo, and when I saw it for the first time I thought it was some kind of small castle, like "Swallow's Nest". I couldn’t think it was a mine.
Vecelli designed a system of two 600-meter tunnels linked by nine huge ore storage tanks
The ore was delivered to the upper tunnel by electric train, unloaded into tanks, and from there the conveyor delivered it directly to the moored ship.
This design was considered at that time a technical miracle, paid off in two years and reduced the cost of ore by 70 percent.
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The importance of Porto Flavia declined in the 1960s when ore production declined and the mine was closed in the 1990s.
Now it is under the protection of UNESCO and belongs to a public organization that conducts tours of the tunnels. These excursions are extremely popular with tourists.