The Nurra is a geographical region in the northwest of Sardinia , Italy . It is the second-largest plain of the island, located between the towns of Sassari , Porto Torres and Alghero . It covers a surface of 700 km and is bounded by the Sardinian Sea on the west and by the Gulf of Asinara on the north.
6-582: Nurra was once an important mining center, with Argentiera being the principal village, though today it is a ghost town. The Nurra, before the works of land reclamation initiated under Fascism (which were also continued in after World War II by the ETFAS, Ente Trasformazione Fondiaria Agricola Sarda), and despite being next to one of the most populated areas of Sardinia, has one of the lowest population densities in Italy , with 5 inhabitants per km, primarily, due to
12-464: A Belgian mining company. The French writer Honoré de Balzac , visited the village in 1838. The most florid period for the mining village was the 1940s. The town declined after World War II, and the mine was closed in 1963. Today the town is the home of a few small businesses who get most of their income from tourism. It is one of the most important examples of industrial archaeology in Sardinia , it
18-602: Is a small town and a frazione (hamlet) in the comune of Sassari , in Sardinia , Italy . It is located 43 km west from Sassari, in a narrow valley, on the coast of the Sardinian Sea . Argentiera is a former mining town, its name comes from the Latin argento , meaning silver. The mine had been exploited since the ancient era, beginning with the Romans . It was reopened in the 19th century by "Società di Corr'e boi",
24-521: Is an example of industrial archaeology included in the Geological-Mining Park of Sardinia and preserved by UNESCO . Today economy is based on agriculture , animal husbandry and tourism . 40°48′29″N 8°15′14″E / 40.8080°N 8.2540°E / 40.8080; 8.2540 Argentiera 40°44′24″N 8°9′4″E / 40.74000°N 8.15111°E / 40.74000; 8.15111 Argentiera
30-536: The Crown of Aragon in the 14th century. This was depopulated the area, and in 1347 many of the villages were reduced to ghost towns, and the remaining ones suffered equally in the subsequent war between Aragon and the Giudicato of Arborea . In 1391, it was again invaded by Brancaleone Doria. In 1427, it was formally given to the free commune of Sassari, but was still subject to raids from North-African corsairs. There
36-642: The drought and to the presence of malaria , eliminated only in the 20th century. In the Middle Ages Nurra was a curatoria in the Giudicato di Torres , rich with salt mills and silver mines. From the 12th century it was owned by the Branca branch of the Doria family of Genoa, who had acquired it at the extinction of the giudicato family and kept it until the end between the Republic of Genoa and
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