The extensive Sulcis coal deposit, the largest coal deposit in the country, has characterized the area’s economy and represented one of Italy’s most important energy resources between the 1930s and 1950s.
It was decided to build the mine and the town of Carbonia in a geographically strategic location: equidistant from the ports of Sant’Antioco and Portovesme, near the railroad and the SS126. Two wells equipped with the most modern machinery, a large power plant and a laundromat, warehouses, workshops and storerooms were built.
Active from 1937 to 1964, the Serbariu mining site today has been restored and renovated for cultural, museum and educational purposes. The exterior of the mine with the vintage FMS 101 Breda locomotive, shaft 1, the two winch rooms, and the lamp room (see Coal Museum) can be visited.
