Named after the viceroy of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Giacomo Pes, marquis of Villamarina, the tunnel, whose excavation was begun in 1852 at an elevation of +174 meters above sea level, has two portals named Asilo and Suore, respectively. The names derive from the presence, near the tunnel, of a Kindergarten built in 1920 and dedicated to Renzo Sartori, 12-year-old son of the mine’s director, Francesco, who died of septicaemia in 1918, and the premises inhabited by the Sisters of Charity, who provided care in the nearby mine hospital.
The Villamarina Gallery on its way encounters the two most important shafts of Monteponi: Vittorio Emanuele II Well and Sella Well. The Vittorio Emanuele II Well (1863), reached as low as -100 m above sea level and was used to transport miners and ore extracted from the galleries. The Sella Shaft, dedicated to parliamentarian Quintino Sella, was excavated in 1874 to the design of engineer Adolfo Pellegrini; it was intended to house the large steam pumps used for groundwater eduction
