Path Description
TECHNICAL DATA
DEPARTURE: Portoscuso 11 m (asl)
ARRIVAL: Iglesias 189 m above sea level
TECHNICAL DATA:
- Length 34.8 km
- Difference in altitude: +821 m and –641 m
- Maximum gradient + 28.0 %
- Minimum gradient -26.2%
Highest point: (Iglesias - Via Fratelli Cairoli) h: 196 m (asl).
STAGE DESCRIPTION:
After returning from Carloforte and disembarking in Portovesme, we return to the square in front of the Tonnara Su Pranu and from here we begin the last stage of the Camino.
The route initially follows the same route as the return route to Capo Altano (see Stage 9), taking Via Grazia Deledda and exiting Portoscuso. Next, turning right, take Viale delle Regioni and, after passing the pine forest, you'll reach a crossroads where you turn left onto Viale Sardegna. On this road, turn left at the first crossroad, take Via Valle D'Aosta, and continue northeast on Via Santa Barbara.
After about 700 m on Via Santa Barbara you will find the shrine of San Francesco, where you can take a short break before taking the farm road called Strada Romana.
From the start of the stage to the sharp bend that follows the development of this farm road, the route has a nearly constant gradient of approximately 2.3%, starting at an altitude of 9 m (asl) - Tonnara di Su Pranu - and arriving at the bend on the Strada Romana farm road at an altitude of 95 m.
After the sharp bend and descending towards the west, you enter the pine forest and, crossing the reforestation area, you finally take the provincial road and turn left to continue north.
After travelling on the provincial road for approximately 750 m, the stage continues by turning right onto an industrial road that soon becomes a dirt road. Remaining on the provincial road, the route follows the first variant of this route, which suggests continuing on the SP 108, rather than entering and proceeding towards Loc. Ghilotta.
to the stage route.
Taking the industrial road that climbs for about 1.5 km with a 4.3% gradient, and then following the same road that descends towards the Ghillotta Necropolis, on the left of the path you can see the Seruci Mine (still partially active due to its recent experimental conversion - see Stage 7 - Carbosulcis). Continuing along this dirt road, you reach the Ghillotta nuraghe, where shortly after you'll find the intersection with the SP 82, which you take by turning left. After a little over 1.5 km on the provincial road, you'll reach a crossroads where you turn left onto the road that leads to the entrance to the Seruci Mine.
Once you reach the mining site gates, turn right onto a dirt road and, following this road, you reach the entrance to the Nuraghe Seruci archaeological site and the Nuragic village, where, by reservation, you can take an interesting guided tour.
The Seruci complex, consisting of a complex nuraghe with a defensive wall, a large village of huts, and a Giant's Tomb, extends over six hectares. The complex nuraghe, with its five or six lobes, dates back to the Late Bronze Age (late 14th century BC) and remained active until the 10th century BC, in the Late Bronze Age. The central tower, with its projecting dome, originally consisted of three superimposed cells with a base diameter of approximately 60 meters and rising to a height of approximately 15 meters. It was surrounded by a defensive wall with five (or six) towers, some in good condition.
One of the largest Nuragic villages in Sardinia developed around the nuraghe, with approximately a hundred huts grouped into separate living areas and internal village streets. The huts are circular in shape, and some of them feature architectural solutions rarely found in other Nuragic villages, such as the use of dividing walls and the addition of additional rooms. Within the village, near the nuraghe, there is a large hut (called Capanna del Capo), which likely served to bring the community, or part of it, together.
Once the visit is over, go down the cobbled and then asphalted road that crosses the SP 108 and continue on the latter, turning left.
Continue along the provincial road until you reach the crossroads where, turning right, you'll be taken onto the SS 126 towards Bacu Abis.
Passing on the main road, after a short while you can see on the right the ruins of the Country Church of San Rocco (patron saint of pilgrims) and continuing you come to the roundabout that allows us to change direction and take the road that takes us to Bacu Abis, passing first at the site of Pozzo Castoldi.
The Castoldi shaft, built in 1929, was active from 1931 to 1941. The structure included a winch frame, a winch cabin, and tunnels. Encased in masonry, its dimensions (3.50 x 1.50 m) allowed for the passage of two cages. The iron latticework frame measured 22 meters. Mining operations were interrupted in 1941 due to the exhaustion of the vein, leading to the shaft's redevelopment as a connecting tunnel to the Cortigiana mine. Its complete decommissioning dates back to the second half of the 1950s. To date, the only piece of industrial archaeology that has been restored is the extraction winch, powered by an electric motor and protected from the elements by a structure known as the "winch house." In addition to the winch, a number of steel ribs and several coal transport wagons are on display in the open air in the forecourt in front of the shaft.
Once you enter Bacu Abis, you walk along the main streets of the town to arrive at the square in front of the Church of Santa Barbara, where the procession dedicated to the Saint sets out every year.
From the church square, take Vicolo Pietro Micca and, once the houses have passed, turn left to go down and take the dirt road that follows the railway line and continues north to reach Gonnesa.
The dirt road soon ends at Corso Giacomo Matteotti, which you follow by turning left and continuing towards the town of Gonnesa at Via della Repubblica.
Following this road near the centre of Gonnesa, after about 100 m you come across Via S. Andrea where, turning left, it is possible to take an alternative route to the stage which passes through 1* Monte Onixeddu and Sa Macchina Beccia, Santa Barbara well .
Turning right and leaving Via Sant'Andrea (Gonnesa) behind us, continue on Via della Repubblica and turn left to take Via Gramsci and pass near the Parish Church of Sant'Andrea Apostolo.
We then descend towards the ruined building of the old station and then head towards the cemetery area and the Gonnesa sports field.
Once at the sports field, the stage continues along the route that follows the old railway line, recently redeveloped as a cycle/pedestrian path of the Camino by the CMSB Foundation.
The path leading to Bindua (a hamlet of Iglesias) has undergone various renovations, including road surface improvements, making it suitable for pedestrians and bicycles, adding directional and informational signage, and improving safety.
In particular, for safety reasons, wooden fences were built to protect passage on the railway embankments, while Corten steel parapets were placed on the cantilevered walls to protect against falls from above.
Finally, it should be noted that several valuable railway structures, such as the four-span bridge over the Rio San Giorgio and the Is Ollastus Tunnel, have been made safe and adapted for the transit of bicycles and pilgrims. The bridge has been equipped with Corten steel parapets, the tunnel's crown has been secured, and the interior has been equipped with a lighting and video surveillance system powered entirely by renewable energy.
Once in Bindua, the stage continues along the underpass that bypasses the SS 126 crossing, arriving directly at the entrance to the former mining complex of the San Giovanni Mine.
Once you pass through the entrance to the San Giovanni Mining Complex and immediately turn left, you begin to climb towards the ruins of the large Keller mechanical washery. Continuing uphill, you reach a large open space where, on the left, is the reception desk for visits to the Santa Barbara Cave (which is highly recommended, but reservations are required and entry times are checked).
The Santa Barbara cave is in fact a natural cavity in the heart of the mountain that has the peculiarity of being lined with tabular crystals of dark brown barite that opens between the rocky layer of ceroid limestone and the silicified yellow dolomite, formations dating back to the Lower Cambrian and therefore very ancient (around 500 million years ago).
This unique site of interest can be reached through underground tunnels made accessible by a small train that, after a 700-meter journey, leads to an elevator that ascends a shaft and opens into the cavity.
After visiting the Cave, we recommend going down the road you took to reach the square and turning left to visit the Normann Village (still partially inhabited) where the residential houses of the mining complex are still intact and in the centre of the housing system you can admire the facade and the remains of Villa Stefani, the building of the then director of the mine, and the small park among the centuries-old pine trees in front of this unique dwelling.
Normann Village housed the workers of the nearby San Giovanni mine, an ancient mine known since Roman times, where a silver vein began to be mined in 1867. The mine remained active until the 1980s, when it was finally abandoned. Today, Normann is home to about seventy people, and among the renovated and inhabited houses are the ruins of now-abandoned dwellings, reminders of its mining past. As mentioned, the buildings of historical interest include Villa Stefani, Villa Pintus, the ruins of the church of San Giovanni at the entrance to the village, and the company store.
Once back on the route and back up to the square, take the dirt road that descends into the pine forest created as the final cover for the mining landfill near the Laveria and then, with a steep descent (which we recommend dismounting from the bike), you arrive on the plain that hosts the route of the old disused railway.
Following the railway line and crossing the small bridge over the Rio San Giorgio, you arrive at the disused Monteponi Scalo railway station. Here, in addition to the imposing mining buildings and facilities, the remains of the Art Nouveau buildings that once served the passenger station stand out.
In the second half of the 19th century, the development of lead and zinc mining at Monteponi prompted the company owning the mine to build its own private narrow-gauge railway, which opened between 1871 and 1876 to transport the extracted minerals to the port of Portovesme. This line initially did not include a connection to the nearby station of Iglesias and was used exclusively for the transportation of minerals.
Only in the final decade of the 19th century did the Royal Sardinian Railway Company build the short standard-gauge connecting line between Iglesias and Monteponi, and on October 1, 1898, the new Monteponi station of the Royal Railways was opened to passenger and freight traffic. The railway's entry into service thus optimized the area's transportation system, particularly with regard to the forwarding of minerals mined at Monteponi to the rest of the island, in addition to the creation of a rail link for freight and passengers. In 1920, the station, like the entire Royal Railways network, came under the management of the Italian State Railways. Activity at the station increased with the project for a public narrow-gauge railway network for the Sulcis-Iglesiente region, and on April 3, 1926, Royal Decree 668 established the transfer of the mining line. This involved the total replacement of the armament, with the transition from the 1435 mm tracks of the FS to the 950 mm ones of the FMS, also losing the feature of the end yard that it had had up to that point.
In 1969, the partial collapse of a tunnel between the Cabitza and Iglesias stations led to the suspension of services along the railway line between the Monteponi and Iglesias stations. On 1 September 1974, railway activity ended definitively and the Monteponi FMS station was abandoned.
Taking the uphill dirt road on the right, you come to a barrier that, if it is closed, must be opened and closed after passing. This structure is near the intersection with the road that descends from the SS 126, made for Variante 3, near the old Power Station.
Going further up, you reach the asphalted section where you find the underpass of the SS 130, the meeting point with the Variante. After passing this, you take a dirt road that, after about 1.6 km, near the Campo Pisano mine, meets a deviation that you take by turning left and veering north.
The dirt road that starts from this intersection is an extension of Via Amelia Melis de Villa and, following it to its end, you arrive at the outskirts of Iglesias where, turning left onto Via Fratelli Cairoli, you reach the walls that enclose the Caserma Trieste (Carabinieri cadet school).
Continuing along Via Fratelli Cairoli you come to the intersection with Via Indipendenza, which you take by turning right and then turning left, you enter Via XX Settembre, arriving at the intersection with Via Garibaldi near the train station.
Shortly after the station, turning left you enter Via Antas in front of the Monteponi Stadium and finally turning left you take Via Val Verde to return to Piazza Quintino Sella where Stage 09 ends and with it the Cammino di Santa Barbara cycle path.
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