The project for the construction and management of the Santa Barbara Mining Trail in Northwest Sardinia, in the Nurra region, was presented today in the Sciuti Hall of the Metropolitan City of Sassari. This initiative consolidates the experience of Sulcis Iglesiente , applying and strengthening it in a new territorial context. The core of the program is the recovery and enhancement of Nurra's mining heritage, revisited with a circular route of approximately 200 kilometers.
The trail traverses sites steeped in the region's mining history, blending technical-scientific, historical-cultural, and landscape-environmental values. The common thread runs through churches and places of worship dedicated to Saint Barbara, patron saint of miners. €210,000 has been allocated for marketing initiatives. The "Santa Barbara Mining Trail" was born in southwest Sardinia as a project to enhance abandoned mining areas, promoted by the Pozzo Sella Association and developed by the CMSB Foundation, with the aim of restoring the historical and social memory of mining. Recognized by the Sardinia Region as one of the island's trails and included in the Ministry of Culture's Atlas of Italian Trails, it represents one of the leading slow tourism experiences nationwide. Its identity-building value is also important, as it will revive the collective memory linked to the mining culture and, at the same time, the cult of Saint Barbara, who for centuries has represented a source of social cohesion for local communities. The agreement involves the Metropolitan City of Sassari, the Municipalities of Sassari, Alghero, Olmedo, Porto Torres, Putifigari, and Uri, the Pozzo Sella Association, the Santa Barbara Mining Trail Foundation, the Archdiocese of Sassari, the Diocese of Alghero-Bosa, the Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta, and the regional Departments of Tourism and Planning.
An agreement aimed at governing a process of territorial planning , cultural enhancement, and tourism development. Its mission is to follow the policies that recognize the paths as a strategic tool for the growth of slow and sustainable tourism . The protocol provides for a gradual implementation process , identifying the actions necessary to launch the Path and gradually structure it. The Sardinia Region, with the relevant departments, will coordinate and finance the operation, with the goal of making the Path operational within the next three years, including through the use of regional and European resources. This commitment complements that of the institutions, municipalities, and partners called upon to share expertise, data, and tools in the preparatory phase for the project's implementation.