Porto Flavia, Sulcis-Iglesiente, Sardinia, Italy May 14, 2025

Porto Flavia, Sulcis-Iglesiente, Sardinia, Italy

Most ports rely on docks and cranes that extend into the shoreline. Porto Flavia in the Sulcis-Iglesiente region, however, took a completely different approach. This engineering marvel transformed a cliff into a gateway for Sardinia"s ore industry. Mining in Sulcis-Iglesiente has a history dating back thousands of years, from the Phoenicians and Romans to the industrial boom in the 20th century. Lead, zinc, coal, sulphur, barium and silver were extracted from these rugged hills but transporting them was a logistical nightmare. Ore had to be hauled by cart, loaded onto small boats and then transferred to larger ships—a slow, costly and inefficient process.

© Marco Bottigelli/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Happy Mothers Day!
Trusty water-shifters
May 14, 2024Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, USA

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jan. 23, 2025Sundance Film Festival
Mar. 12, 2025Château de Sully-sur-Loire, Centre-Val de Loire, France
Dec. 23, 2024Celebrating Festivus
Back to the future
Colours of spring
Dec. 7, 2024Lake Ontario, Toronto, during winter
Colours of Colorado
Jun. 6, 2024The 80th anniversary of D-Day
Nov. 4, 2025Tower Bridge, London, England
Jan. 2, 2025Ardez village, Graubunden, Switzerland
May 8, 2025World Donkey Day
Oct. 25, 2023Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
Jan. 2, 2024Prayer flags in Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan
Apr. 11, 2024Dragon waterfall, Venezuela
When landscape met wilderness
Giants of the Southern Ocean
The old castle at sunrise
This lesson is going swimmingly
Jan. 16, 2026Leopard at Etosha National Park, Namibia
The animal kingdoms great migration
Winter at Valley Forge
Sep. 16, 2025Nighttime view over the Gulf Coast
Strong sibling bonds
Aug. 25, 2025Colony of northern gannets in Quebec
Apr. 13, 2025Songkran—Thai New Year
Nov. 14, 2025Manatee
Trails leading to the gateway of nature.
Ride the wave
A window to the Pacific
What the heck is a distaff?