The Cammino di Santa Barbara: Hiking Through Sardinia's Mining Heartland

A trail through industrial archaeology and wild nature

The Cammino di Santa Barbara is one of Italy's most surprising long-distance walks. Approximately 500 kilometres — divided into 30 loop stages — crossing the Sulcis-Iglesiente, the mining region of south-western Sardinia. The name is dedicated to Saint Barbara, patron saint of miners, and the trail links ancient abandoned mines through coastal paths, rugged mountains and borghi that once lived on lead, zinc and silver.

It is a trail unlike any other on the Italian peninsula: it does not pass cathedrals and abbeys but mine shafts and ore-washing plants, does not climb toward sanctuaries but toward tunnels carved into the mountain. Its beauty is the harsh, contradictory beauty of a land that industry once wounded and that nature is slowly reclaiming.

The sections of the trail

The Nebida and Masua coast (stages 1–5)

The first stages are the most spectacular in terms of scenery. You walk along the Sulcis coast between limestone cliffs plunging into turquoise sea. The Pan di Zucchero — a 133 m sea stack rising from the water off Masua — is one of the most iconic natural sights in Sardinia. The Laveria Lamarmora, clinging to the cliff with its ruined buildings overhanging the void, is a monument of industrial archaeology with cinematic power.

You pass through Porto Flavia, a mining gallery that opens directly onto the cliff face: a masterpiece of 1924 engineering that allowed ore to be loaded straight onto ships. The guided tour of the interior is an unforgettable experience. The beaches along this stretch — Cala Domestica, Masua, Nebida — are among the most beautiful and deserted on the island.

The mining interior: Iglesias and its mountains (stages 6–12)

You enter the hinterland crossing the heart of the mining district. Iglesias — the regional capital, whose Spanish name means "churches" — preserves a remarkable medieval centre with the cathedral of Santa Chiara and Holy Week rites among the most evocative in Sardinia. Around the city, the mines of Monteponi, San Giovanni and Campo Pisano tell centuries of extraction: Art Nouveau buildings, abandoned workers' villages, shafts hundreds of metres deep.

The interior landscape is austere and fascinating: limestone and granite mountains, holm oak forests and Mediterranean scrub, rivers that have carved deep gorges. The Grotta di Santa Barbara, discovered by chance by miners in 1952 inside the San Giovanni mine, is a cathedral of barite crystals 500 million years old.

Deep Sulcis (stages 13–20)

The central stages cross the Sulcis, the southernmost sub-region of Sardinia. Here the landscape becomes almost African: bare hills swept by wind, coastal lagoons where pink flamingos gather in their thousands, coal mines that have marked the social history of the island. Carbonia, the city founded by Mussolini in 1938 to exploit the coal basin, is a unique example of Italian rationalist urban planning.

You reach the island of Sant'Antioco, connected to the mainland by an isthmus, where the Tabarchina community — descended from Ligurians from Pegli who emigrated in the 16th century — maintains its own distinct traditions and cuisine. The bluefin tuna, caught using traditional methods, is a specialty not to be missed.

The west coast and the return (stages 21–30)

The final stages climb back up the western coast, crossing the Geomining Park of Sardinia (UNESCO heritage). You encounter the Piscinas dunes — among the tallest in Europe, golden mountains of sand recalling the Sahara — and the wild beaches of Scivu and Capo Pecora. The trail alternates breathtaking coastal stretches with climbs into the interior, passing abandoned mines where vegetation is slowly swallowing the iron and stone structures.

Practical information

Difficulty

The trail is rated E/EE depending on the stage. Coastal stages can be exposed and windy; inland stages involve significant climbs on stony terrain. Stages range from 12 to 25 km, with daily elevation gains between 300 and 800 m. The complete trail requires approximately 30 days, but sections of 5–7 stages can be walked independently.

Waymarking

The route is marked with the trail logo (stylised Santa Barbara cross) and directional arrows. Waymarking is generally good but should be supplemented with the GPX track, downloadable from the trail's official website. Some variants are less clearly marked.

When to go

• March–May: ideal period, Sardinia in bloom, perfect temperatures for walking.
• October–November: excellent, the sea is still warm for swimming, golden light.
• Summer: possible but very hot. Set off at dawn and rest during the midday hours.
• Winter: walkable, mild climate but short days and possible heavy rain.

Specific equipment

• Robust trekking boots (terrain is often stony and limestone)
• Strong sun protection and hat (constant exposure)
• Serious windproof layer: the maestrale can blow very hard on the coast
• At least 2–3 litres of water on stages without settlements
• Swimwear: the beaches along the route invite a dip
• Torch or headlamp for mine visits

Where to sleep

Hospitality is growing, with B&Bs, agriturismi and hostels in the stage towns. Costs are reasonable (25–45 euros per night). In some stages options are limited: book ahead. Few campsites along the route, but free bivouacking is tolerated in remote areas away from the coast.

How to get there

Iglesias is reachable by train from Cagliari (1 hour) or by car (SS130). The nearest airport is Cagliari-Elmas. The loop format allows you to start from any stage, but Iglesias is the most logistically convenient starting point.

Where the land tells its wounds

The Cammino di Santa Barbara is not a relaxing walk through picture-postcard scenery. It is a journey through the contradictions of a land that industry exploited and then abandoned, where beauty coexists with scars. The dismantled mines, the empty workers' villages, the chimneys pointing at a brilliant blue sky: everything tells a story of brutal labour, social struggles, communities that gave everything and found themselves with nothing. To walk here is an act of memory and of hope — because nature is mending the wounds, and slow tourism can give this land a future different from its past.