Iglesias - Villa di Chiesa

In the outskirts of Iglesias there is the impressive complex of Monteponi mine and Villamarina gallery, (State Road No.126). The original plan has left a few industrial buildings of historical and architectural interest: Palazzo Bellavista, Vittorio Emanuele and Sella shafts. A fresco by Aligi Sassu, 'La miniera' ('The mine'), 1950, decorates the guesthouse. Dedicated to the vice-king of Sardinia, Villamarina gallery (at 174 m a.s.l.) has got two entrances. It is connected to the main shafts of Monteponi mine: Pozzo Vittorio Emanuele (1863), used to transfer miners and minerals, and Pozzo Sella (1874), once hosting large dewatering pumps.

A fine architecture characterizes the Mining Administrative Department: Palazzo Monteponi, or Bellavista, a three-storey edifice of 1865. Its large garden has got century-old plants.

Following Carbonia-S.Antioco road, going down State Road No.126, the 'red mountains' of Monteponi appear on the background. Resulting from zinc waste accumulated in time, they are now being reconsidered within an environmental plan.