Carbonia
The city of Carbonia is quite young, as it was born on the last century during the fascism: it was officially inaugurated by Benito Mussolini on 18th of December in 1938. It is the most important example of organized mining center in Italy. The economy of the territory focused upon the exploitation of the carbon fossil mines: beyond the site of Serbarìu, we would like to mention the antecedents mines of Nuraxi Figus, Seruci and Cortoghiana (comprehensively employed around 15.000 miners). The communitarian limitations of some decades ago, leaded to the closure of these sites: the Sardinian coal apparently contains an high percentage of sulfuric elements, judged very polluting.
Thousands of years ago, this zone was occupied by nuragic nucleus and then by the Phoenician people, that settled down on Monte Sirai in the VIII century B.C., ruins are still visitable nowadays. In the same locality, you could also admire a necropolis (the area used for the cremation of defuncts is quite interesting) and a tophet (a sacred area delimited by a fencing). We recommend visiting the temple of the Astante goddess. Furthermore, the symbol of Tanit goddess is carved upside down in a pillar, as to represent the descent to the reign of the deaths. On the Sirai Mount you will also find the neolithic cave of Su Carroppu, used by the native populations already from the VI millennium B.C. , sfruttata dalle popolazioni indigene già nel VI millennio a.C.
