Stage 10 - from Calasetta to Carbonia

DEPARTURE: Calasetta 16 m (a.s.l.)

ARRIVAL: Carbonia 92 m (a.s.l.)

TECHNICAL DATA:

• Distance: 33.8 km

• Elevation Gain: +341 m and –259 m

• Maximum Gradient: +9.9%

• Minimum Gradient: -10.5%

 

STAGE DESCRIPTION:

 

From Piazza Pietro Belly, head onto the nearby Via Tabarchina, right behind the Town Hall building, and descend towards the Calasetta Marina.

Along the seafront, follow the road to the pier where ferries to Carloforte dock, then continue along the Lungomare Arenzano, taking in the waterfront.

After following the coastal road, you reach a junction leading to the SS126. After 500 m, turn left and take the road towards Cussorgia, retracing part of the previous stage that connects Calasetta with Sant’Antioco.

Continue along the road to Sant’Antioco via Cussorgia, entering the town near the Lido. Proceed along the seafront past the Marina, and near the tourist port take the sandy dirt road that runs along the pier area until you rejoin the SS 126 just before the bridge connecting the two islands.

After crossing the bridge on the SS 126 and soon leaving the main road just before the lighthouse, get back on the bike path and continue towards San Giovanni Suergiu.

Following this long bike path, you will reach the southern outskirts of Carbonia in the Via Aspromonte area. At the end of this street, marked by a small roundabout, it is recommended to visit the Grande Miniera di Serbariu mining site, which can be reached by taking the third exit of the roundabout onto Via Giovanni Maria Lai for about 150 m.

From roundabout to roundabout, continue towards the center of Carbonia, taking the second exit and proceeding straight on Via Giovanni Maria Lai. After the next roundabout, continue along Via Giuseppe Mazzini.

Near the sports field, turn right onto Via G. Maria Angioi and reach the Parish Church of Cristo Re. Continue along Viale Trento (SP78), turn immediately right, and you will arrive at the Cannas di Sotto Archaeological Park, which houses the necropolis of the same name (“Domus de Janas”).

Directly connected by a covered passage to the Villa Sulcis Archaeological Museum, the Cannas di Sotto Archaeological Park is entirely within the urban area. The park area develops around the Domus de Janas necropolis, dating to the Late Neolithic (from around 3700 BC onwards), composed of 26 small caves featuring various architectural styles resulting from extensions and modifications over different eras.

After visiting the park, continue to Piazza Roma in the center of Carbonia, where you can visit the cloister of Santa Barbara at the Church of San Ponziano. Moving northwest along Via Gramsci and Via Costituente, you arrive at Piazza Repubblica, where you will find the former “Accoglienza delle Maestranze” (“Workers’ Reception Center”), now the Posada di Carbonia managed by the Fondazione CMSB, which marks the end of the stage.

The Posada di Carbonia is housed in a building with a long history. Its origin, closely tied to the mine, makes it particularly significant for the route: built between 1936-38, it was intended as a reception center for mine workers arriving in the city.

After the mines closed, it served as a Technical Institute for Surveyors until 2010. It was then restored and set up by the Province for dual use as a multimedia center for the wetlands of Sulcis and as a hostel.

Since July 2021, it has been made freely available on loan by the Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara Foundation, which has turned it into accommodation for pilgrims and hikers travelling along the Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara.