The best cycling routes in Sud Sardegna

The position of the town of Buggerru is quite unique, it has its own gulf

A site of industrial archaeology right on a beautiful coastline. Buggerru was founded in 1864 as a mining village. Today it is a holiday resort with around 1,000 inhabitants, a fifth of what it had at the beginning of the 20th century. The present village, with the parish church dedicated to St. John the Baptist, consists of fan-shaped houses where the valley of Monte Caitas flows into the sea, a channel that gave its name to the Malfidano mine, the most important mine during the mining era from the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. It was active until 1979: in just over a century, Buggerru, already known for its silver in Roman times, produced more than 1 million tons of zinc and 200,000 tons of lead. Its modern small port lies beneath the exit of the Henry Tunnel, now an open-air museum, once a railway tunnel for the transport of extracted minerals.

The evocative Grotta di San Giovanni is a geological and archaeological treasure, as well as the longest vehicle-accessible cave in the world. The cave is accessible from two sides, but the ticket office and information point are located at the main, southern entrance. Entrance is permitted only during cave opening hours. Ticket prices vary depending on the type of visit. You can find all the latest information on the website: https://www.grottasangiovanni.com/.

According to legend, the Acquafredda Castle was built by the Gherardesca family, Counts of Donoratico, when they acquired southeastern Sardinia. In fact, in 1257, the fortress came into the possession of Ugolino of Donoratico, lord of the Cagliarani territory, immortalized by Dante in Canto 23 of the Inferno. However, the castle is older, as it is already mentioned in a papal bull of 1215. After Ugolino's death (1288), it passed into the possession of Pisa, then to the Aragonese (1324), and subsequently to several feudal lords until it was redeemed by Victor Amadeus III (1785). From the top of a mountain, the castle dominates the territory of Siliqua, four kilometers away. Climbing its slopes, the view sweeps from the green valley of the Cixerri to Cagliari, from the Marmilla to the Iglesias area. At dawn and dusk, their shadows extend across the valley.

Iglesiente, the region at the center of the Sardinian mining epic and of which it is the capital, derives its name. It has a population of 27,000 and is the episcopal see and heir to the ancient diocese of Sulcis. Iglesias means "churches" in Spanish. It is no coincidence that in a city with a glorious past, especially under Catalan-Aragonese rule (when it was a royal city), the celebrations surrounding the Good Friday customs stand out, recalling Spanish customs in form and color. The mystery processions on Holy Tuesday and Holy Friday are particularly impressive. Among the churches, the Cathedral of Santa Chiara (dating back to the 13th century), the churches of Madonna delle Grazie, Del Collegio, a Jesuit temple, and San Francesco, one of Sardinia's best-preserved and most important buildings in the Gothic-Catalan style, which houses an altarpiece dating back to 1560, are particularly worth seeing.

Or the Menhir of Terrazzu (the location where it is located). A megalithic monument over 5 meters tall; its current height, however, is not its original height, as its top was damaged by lightning. It is said that it was planted in Terrazzu by the giantess Luxia, who was tasked with building a bridge between the island of Sant'Antioco and the mainland. Upon arriving, however, she saw that the bridge had already been built and, enraged, threw the boulder to the ground, where it can be seen today. In the small park where the menhir is located, there is also a bicycle repair and maintenance station sponsored by the Cammino di Santa Barbara, of which the monument is part.

Sardinia on the southwest coast

Small sandy beach, unfortunately directly on the road and with a bar