Iglesias
It is one of two main cities of the Province (the other is Carbonia) that, since 2005 administered a good part of the Sulcis-Iglesiente. Iglesias is a city rich in history and culture, one of the most important in Sardinia: hence it is also a royal city. In the XIII century A.D., the Pisan people baptized it as Villa di Chiesa, perhaps bearing in mind the church of Nostra Signora di Buoncammino, that dominates the city from a close hill .
In the historical center it is possible to visit numerous places. In the Municipio square, there is Santa Chiara cathedral (XIII century, partly rebuilt in the XVI century) and the episcopal palace. The near churches of Madonna di Valverde (XIII century) and San Francisco d' Assisi (XV-XVI century) are also very interesting. A wide part of the wall edified under the count Ugolino Donoratico of the Gherardesca's will, cited by Dante Alighieri in the Hell of the Divine Commedia, modified by Aragoneses can still be seen nowadays, overwhelmed by the castle of Salvaterra that, with the fortress of Gioiosa Guardia and Acquafredda, constituted the complex defense system of the sighting towers along the coast.
In Quintino Sella square stands out the monument dedicated to the memory of the Italian statesman who, in XIX century, gave a big impulse to the extractive activity in the entire region of the Sulcis-Iglesiente. In 1871, the Mining Technical Institute was found in this small city thanks to the interest of Quintino Sella and to the money of the manufacturer George Asproni. It is here possible to visit the Mineralogy and Paleontology Museum, with the most important mineral collection of Sardinia, beyond to numerous fossils. In the adjacent Mining Art Museum, there are ancient machineries for the ground drilling and for the extracted minerals working.
The Holy Week rituals of Iglesias are among the most interesting in Sardinia, handed down from 1600. Also the festivity in honor of the Vergine delle Grazie is particularly popular: it renews the solemn vow made on the 25th March 1735, when the population addressed to the Madonna asking and obtaining the grace of the freedom from the grasshopper invasion, that were destroying all the harvests. Every year, on the second Sunday of July, the mayor of Iglesias - in name of the municipality - ignites a candle in the church of the Vergine delle Grazie. On the day of the Ascension, instead, from five centuries is celebrated the festivity in honor of the Madonna Queen of the Sulcis, whose simulacrum was lead from Iglesias to Tratalias, until the cathedral of Santa Maria di Monserrato.
