Giumentaro Mine (Imera)

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The Giumentaro Mine – also known as the Giumentaro sulfur mine – was opened as early as 1839 under concession to the Tasca family and soon became part of the gypsum-sulfur district that sustained the Sicilian economy for over a century.

Its tunnels, hand-dug into the compact Miocene evaporite, were connected to vertical shafts and ventilation ducts, while outside, the calcheroni and burning Gill furnaces made it possible to separate the raw sulfur from impurities, using as fuel the same gypsum extracted from the nearby quarries.
Oral testimonies collected by local associations recount the work of the carusi, the young porters who, along steep descents, carried slabs of mineral down to the drying areas — a daily ritual that combined hard labor with a deep sense of community solidarity.
 

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