The best traffic-free bike rides around Gonnesa

Remnants of the Miniera di Montepino: rusted buildings, collapsed walls, and quiet details that still feel alive. A short detour into Sardinia’s mining past — then back to the ride, with dust on your legs and a story in your pocket.

Inside was a large steam engine used to lift silver-bearing galena and other minerals. The shaft was abandoned in 1940.

Carloforte, still closely linked to Pegli and Genoa, is the island's only center, with 6,000 inhabitants. It enchants with its many narrow streets rising up a gentle slope, its colorful corners and sea views, its small harbor, and its former defenses, of which watchtowers and sections of walls with forts can still be seen, including La Porta del Leone. Among the architectural highlights of this town, which is included in the Club of the Most Beautiful Towns in Italy, are U Palassiu, dating from the early 20th century and now the Giuseppe Cavallera Cinema, and the Church of the Madonna del Naufrago, which houses the wooden statue venerated by the Tabarkin people, a symbol of the faith and solidarity of the community.

Near the old salt pans you can sometimes see some flamingos.

The journey takes a relaxing 45 minutes.

Iglesiente, the region at the center of the Sardinian mining epic and of which it is the capital, derives its name. It has a population of 27,000 and is the episcopal see and heir to the ancient diocese of Sulcis. Iglesias means "churches" in Spanish. It is no coincidence that in a city with a glorious past, especially under Catalan-Aragonese rule (when it was a royal city), the celebrations surrounding the Good Friday customs stand out, recalling Spanish customs in form and color. The mystery processions on Holy Tuesday and Holy Friday are particularly impressive. Among the churches, the Cathedral of Santa Chiara (dating back to the 13th century), the churches of Madonna delle Grazie, Del Collegio, a Jesuit temple, and San Francesco, one of Sardinia's best-preserved and most important buildings in the Gothic-Catalan style, which houses an altarpiece dating back to 1560, are particularly worth seeing.

Sa macchina beccia (old machine) although it looks like a castle or a villa is actually an abandoned mining shaft. It is located near the village Asproni.

The language of the Tabarchians essentially corresponds to the Ligurian language of the 15th century. Through personal and trade connections - both from Tunisia and from the island of San Pietro - it has developed just as much as the actual Ligurian and Genoese languages. Due to its geographical location, the port of Carloforte was of considerable importance in shipping and as a transshipment point for medium tonnage until the beginning of the 19th century. Carlofortine Ligurian preserves some nouns and rare grammatical forms that only occur in the outdated Genoese. It does not contain any Gallicisms that Genoese has adopted in recent centuries; for example, the accent (còccina) is typical of Pegli and not of pure Genoese. Only a few nouns from Sardinian, Arabic and Tuscan can be identified as external influences. More than 80 percent of the population still speak this dialect in everyday life today. The architecture, culture, customs and traditions of Carloforte still correspond to those of Liguria. Due to its historical, economic and cultural ties with the Ligurian capital, especially with Pegli, Carloforte was recognized as an honorary municipality of the province of Genoa on November 10, 2004. In 2006, the neighboring municipality of Calasetta received the same honor. Carloforte celebrates twin festivities with Pegli every year.