Guided tour to Funtana Raminosa – Gadoni
The Funtana Raminosa Mine, placed on the banks of the Saraxinus stream, is all to discover for its ancient origins.
The experts, who studied that mine in the first years of 19th century, discovered with great enthusiasm the signs of an uninterrupted mining activity dating back to the Romans.
Very interesting archaeological discoveries are some porphyry discs and a blast furnace with a singular copper ingot inside it.
The permissions given to the Spanish Pietro Xinto, who could start the exploration for the excavations and exploitations in a large area, date back to 1517.
The exploration works of the subsurface were deepened in 1882 by Vincenzo Ridi: he was the first researcher who adopted, in this mine, modern exploration works.
But the real discovery of a rich deposit was made by the engineers Emilio Jacob and Luigi Sanna Manunta. When, in 1913, the mine passed on to the lawyer Paolo Guinebertière, who, in the next years, founded the Societè Anonyme des Mines de Cuivre de Sardaigne, this mine met with new mining engineering.
Devi Sapere che
You must know that
In 1979, after the handing over to SAMIN S.p.A., a new imposing installation was realized: it was inaugurated in 1982 but it worked just for few months because of the typology of the deposit and the drop of copper quotations. It was the beginning of the gradual abandonment of the mining activity.
The transport of the material, failing roads and railways, was very complicated because of the distance between the yards and the huge drops of the rocky ground. However these problems were overcome thanks to the construction of two aerial ropeways: the first one, created in 1912, was used above all for the ore transport to the tableland of Taccu Zippiri. The second ropeway was built in 1956 only for the transport of raw material from the mine to the working installation.
Both ropeways were provided with two supporting steel-wire ropes, essential for the support of the bogies, and two strong haulage cables which guaranteed its movement.
Curiosità
Curiosities
During the Fascist regime the entrepreneur Marcello Ravizza assumed the birth of a “copper village” in the area of the Funtana Raminosa Mine.
This hypothetical village, even with a small airport, could accommodate 2200 workers. But Ravizza’s plan was not completely realized. The wages for the hundreds of workers were guaranteed until the beginnings of 1980s.
The mining activity in the Funtana Raminosa Mine stopped in 1980 and gave way, at the end of 1990s, to the requalification of the area that IGEA has carried out with tourist and cultural aims.
Come raggiungere il sito
How to reach the site
View the map
Guided tours are effected by appointment by calling from Monday to Friday, 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m., +39 0781 491300.
For schools and groups a deposit is needed, equivalent to the 30% of the total amount, to effect by transfer in postal c/c n. 14354096 to IGEA SpA – Interventi Geo Ambientali specifying the reason for payment. The demonstration of the payment must be anticipated by fax to +39 0781 491395.
e-mail: segr.dir@igeaspa.it on working days.
FARES:
Adults: E 8.00
Youth (6 to 12): E 4.50
Groups (at least 20 paying adults): E 6.00
Schools: E 4.50
Over 65: E 6.00