⛏️Thread about my high school, in celebration of the 150th anniversary of its foundation.
📸 The 1904's building
The area of the Sulcis Iglesiente has been exploited for its mineral wealth since the age of times, by locals and then by stranger industries.
In 1848, during the Savoy rule of the Kingdom of Sardinia, the actual industrial period of the Sulcis Iglesiente began.
It was in 1871, 10 years after the unification of Italy, that the idea of constructing a mining school was accepted. It was proposed by the Minister of Finances, Quintino Sella. With the mines now taking the relevant part of the economy of the area, there was the need to-
-form the locals to the technological advancements of the era. The Royal Decree was signed on 10th September 1871.
The first building that hosted the school was the former Franciscan convent of the town. But at some point the place became too strict and a new school was needed.
With the contribution of Giorgio Asproni (to whom the school is now dedicated), the new school was began in 1904 and finished in 1911. It's a rather large (and let me tell you, labyrinthine) building in Liberty style, which still conserves the style of the turn of the century.
It rises beside the beautiful Liberty building of the Sardinian Minerary Association and it features large classrooms, a big library, chemistry laboratories, an ancient archive and beautiful presidency rooms.
In the '30s, a gallery was excavated underneath by the students-
-in their practice course. This gallery runs all the way to the (now) palace of the municipality, back then hospital of the town. The gallery was used in WWII as refuge against bombings and hospital for the injured.
The building now hosts only a part of the courses and it's-
-mostly adapted as museum. On the ground floor, there's the Museum of Mining Art, with historical photographs, old instruments of the work and the gallery of the students.
At the first floor, there's the Museum of Mineralogy and Paleontology, with fossils, old bones and minerals of the area, also old medieval instruments. The museum has been recently expanded of another room to create the MuMiSa, Sardinian Museum of Mineralogy.
The class of students and professors of 1934 who started excavating the Gallery. You can see women too!
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
📜Extemporary thread about the art of poetry in Sardinia, especially the poetic contests 🎶
Oral tradition in Sardinia has always been a strong component of the conservation of memory. Most people were illiterate, but they could still create poetry. This is a particular characteristic of shepherds, which also relates to the traditional singing technique.
A tradition that remained for long in Sardinia is that of poetic contests. People (usually men, but also women could make poetry) would challenge each other in improvised rhymes centering a topic. They could be 2 people, or 4, or more. Poetic contests were typical of village -
Thread about, you guessed it, the festival of Saint Antiochus, patron of Sardinia.
Antiochus was born in North Africa and was likely a doctor. He was raised in the Christian faith, in a period in which Romans still persecuted Christians. The hagiography says he was pretty vocal about his faith and for this reason the Roman governors tried to kill him, -
-eventually forcing him at sea on a boat. This boat is said to have reached the Sardinian island of Sulci (today, Sant'Antioco), where Antiochus carried on his preaching. He was found by the Romans again, who sentenced him to death, but Antiochus miraculously and peacefully died-
🌊 Thread about the archaeological remains of an important centre of Punic and Roman Sardinia. 🌊
Nora is located in the South Sardinia, today in the municipality of Pula, at close distance from Cagliari. It is famous for being the site of the martyrdom of Sant'Efisio and back in the day, it was probably even more important than Karales (Cagliari).
The archaeological site was known already in the 16th century but it was mostly covered by the sand. In the 19th century, a strong sea-storm uncovered part of the mosaics, arising interest and leading to a series of excavations that revealed what was underground.
✨Today is the launch day of SONG AMONG THE RUINS!✨
My little YA historical gothic book set in Sardinia officially releases today (Amazon link below ⬇️). So, I wanted to say a couple of words.
As you might know by now, the main setting is Cuglieri, a village in the Montiferru. Today is the 1st anniversary of the fire that burned down large part of the forest and destroyed the millennial oleaster. Exactly one year ago, I was preparing to begin-
-drafting when this all happened. I am now working on the Italian translation of the book, for which I have different plans regarding publication, but in one way or another it will be out eventually.
Thread about the still surviving and recognisable castles of the Middle Age.
Sardinia had a different medieval history than the rest of Europe. By the 1000s, we had 4 different kingdoms, likely born from the division of an original single entity. The subdivision meant also a different kind of local administration. Differently than the rest of Europe, -
-castles in Sardinia developed along the confines of the kingdoms (as watchtowers towards the neighbours) and not in the countryside as a creation of a local feudal power. This means castles are relatively few (~120 in the whole Island for ~350 towns/villages).