Villaggio Minerario Asproni – Iglesias, Italy - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

AO Edited

Villaggio Minerario Asproni

Iglesias, Italy

A former mining village that now operates as an open-air museum.  

View all photos
Near the village, there is this curious building, built in 1870. Inside it there was a steam plant, to lift the lead and silver minerals from the galleries below the ground. The miners nicknamed it "Sa Macchina Beccia" (The old machine, in Sardinian language). The plant stopped working in 1940. ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
Near the village, there is this curious building, built in 1870. Inside it there was a steam plant, to lift the lead and silver minerals from the galleries below the ground. The miners nicknamed it "Sa Macchina Beccia" (The old machine, in Sardinian language). The plant stopped working in 1940. ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
The houses of the miners. Note the pole for electricity, not so a common thing in this kind of homes... ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
Asproni family home. ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
Building of the mine management. ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
The grocery store. ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
The St. George's Church. ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
Villaggio Minerario Asproni ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
A fireplace inside a miner's home. All miners' homes had a fireplace. For heating, and cooking, sometimes... ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
Villaggio Minerario Asproni ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
A bathroom, outside miners' homes. ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
The school, for miners' children. ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
Seddas Moddizzis mine plant. On the right of the photo, the oldest part of the plant (beginning of 20th Century); on the left the concrete part built in the '50s. In the mine, lead, zinc and silver minerals were extracted. ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
Near the village, a wood furnace for the calcination of zinc carbonate. The carbonate was transformed in oxyd, then transported to the main plant at Seddas Moddizzis for further refinings. ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
The public fountain. The most important place of the village: here people met (expecially women and children during the week; men only on Sundays...). ipponax (Atlas Obscura User)
13
88
Top Places in Italy
Museum of Prosciutto di Parma
Langhirano, Italy
Sala dei Giganti (Chamber of the Giants)
Mantua, Italy
Castellana Caves
Castellana Grotte, Italy
 See All

Asproni Mine Village was a place where mine workers of Serra Moddizzis lived from the end of the 18th to the half of the 19th-century.

The mine was founded by Giorgio Asproni (1841-1936), and was a fully operational village, with all the services of a small town. The town included an elementary school for miners’ children, a post office, church, grocery store, a little hospital, and more.

Asproni and his family lived here despite the relatively short distance from the nearest important town, Iglesias. The last people lived in the town around the 1960s. The once-booming town was abandoned not long after. 

Know Before You Go

 People can visit the village for free, or with a local guide for 5 € each.

Atlas Obscura Trips

NEW - Southern Italy: Castles, Caves & Coastal Treasures in Puglia

Whimsical architecture, outstanding olive oil, and gorgeous landscapes.
Book Now
mining ghost towns abandoned
Community Contributors
ipponax
Added by
ipponax
Published
February 23, 2022
Edit this listing
Make an Edit Add Photos
Nearby
Nebida Laveria
4.39 miles
Porto Flavia
6.37 miles
Il Giardino Fantastico di Fiorenzo Pilia
27.05 miles
Want to see fewer ads? Become a Member.
Near This Place
Iglesias, Italy

Nebida Laveria

On the coast of Sardinia, a once-great mining village is finding new life as a coastal resort town.
Porto Flavia
Masua, Italy

Porto Flavia

This cliff-face port is considered a masterpiece of mining engineering.
Some sculptures move and interact with water.
San Sperate, Italy

Il Giardino Fantastico di Fiorenzo Pilia

A collection of sculptures that explore what's at stake when nature is thrown out of balance.
Ussana, Italy

Abandoned Ussana Brick Factory

An eerie gravel road full of shards of red bricks leads to the ruins of a deserted factory.
Related Places
New Idria
Paicines, California

New Idria Ghost Town

After the nearby mercury mine shut down, this town was abandoned and declared a Superfund site.
The abandoned La Siberia cement factory and company town.
La Calera, Colombia

La Siberia

An abandoned company town and cement factory outside of Bogotá, now haunted by ghosts and scofflaws.
Laver.
Älvsbyn V, Sweden

Laver Ruins

The concrete skeletons of an abandoned Swedish town hide among the trees.
The ghost town.
Keeler, California

Cerro Gordo

A lawless town deep in Death Valley was famous for its riches and death rate turned YouTube famous.
In partnership with KAYAK

Plan Your Trip

From Around the Web