The Mines Road (Gessolungo–Imera–Capodarso)

The Mines Road (Gessolungo–Imera–Capodarso)

Experience: Mines, Landscapes, History

Route: outdoor, loop

Km: 16,3

Duration: 2-3 h

Difficulty: moderate

Terrain: asphalt and dirt

Route suitable: bicycle

Ascent / Elevation gain: 1021

Descent / Elevation loss: 1021

3 Minutes of reading

This itinerary, northeast of downtown Caltanissetta, will let you discover the natural side and, above all, the places of memory where mining extraction was the area’s main economic and cultural lifeblood.

It starts from the parking area of the Terrapelata Maccalube Geosite: peculiar, cold, small mud volcanoes without magma or hydrothermal fluids, which display mild paroxysmal phenomena with small mud eruptions (accessible only when accompanied by a guide). From here, cross left into the village of Santa Barbara and, turning right onto Corso Italia, go beyond the village. On the left you will soon see the church of the Saint—patron of firefighters, miners, explosives experts, and many other categories at risk of sudden death. In the Nisseno lands enriched by metallurgical and extractive activities, this place reflects the community’s superstitious side and exorcizes the fears and toil of the dark life in the mines. Continue straight almost to the end of the road, then turn left toward Contrada Gibbara. At the stop sign, turn right and take the SP202. In less than 1 km, on the right, you’ll find the Juncio Tumminelli Mine (formerly Testasecca), and after another half kilometre you’ll see the Cemetery of the Carusi on the left. Here time has stopped, as crystallized as the stories it holds; this place takes us back to a not-so-distant past where survival was a struggle against darkness and hard rock from an early age, in stifling, desolate places where even breathing was, in itself, exhausting and crushing work.

After this commemorative stop, continue straight, keep right at the first fork, and at the second turn slightly left onto the gently ascending dirt road to reach Bosco Imera. Follow the path: keep left at the first fork and turn right at the second, still within the woods, skirting it; keeping to the track, take the semi-paved road. Go straight on, parallel to the railway, and turn right at the end of the road, joining the SP202 beside the former Imera station. Continue for about 1 km, then keep left by a farmhouse; carry on straight, skirt a tiny pond, and keep straight ahead, staying on the trail. From here, it is advisable to follow the route track on the map to avoid taking the wrong path. After crossing a small wood, on the right you’ll find the Trabonella Mine Geosite; continuing on, you return to the starting point.

The stages of the itinerary

 
Gessolungo Sulphur Mine
Gessolungo Sulphur Mine
Amid the rolling gypsum-sulphur hills that frame Caltanissetta, the Gessolungo Mine appears like a lunar landscape streaked with saffron yellow.
Trabonella Mine
Trabonella Mine
Amid the white folds of the Miocene gypsum overlooking the valley of the southern Imera, the Trabonella sulphur mine preserves the epic of Nisseno’s yellow gold.
Monte Capodarso and Valley of the Southern Imera River
Monte Capodarso and Valley of the Southern Imera River
Amid the hills at the heart of the island, the Monte Capodarso and Southern Imera River Oriented Nature Reserve stretches across 1,485 hectares of wild gorges, abandoned sulphur quarries, and fragrant patches of thyme.
Maccalube Terrapelata
Maccalube Terrapelata
Southeast of Caltanissetta, on the edge of the Monte Capodarso Reserve, the barren hill of Terrapelata comes alive with dozens of small mud volcanoes: these are the maccalube.
Stretto Mine
Stretto Mine
The Stretto Mine, also known as Solfara Stretto Giordano, is an old sulfur mine located in the Imera Valley basin, active since 1839 and permanently closed in 1966.
Cimitero dei Carusi
Cimitero dei Carusi
The Cimitero dei Carusi is a memorial dedicated to the miners who lost their lives during the tragic accident of November 12, 1881, in the Gessolungo mine, one of the deepest in Sicily.
Juncio Tumminelli Mine (former Testasecca)
Juncio Tumminelli Mine (former Testasecca)
The Juncio Tumminelli Mine (former Testasecca) is located northeast of Caltanissetta, in the heart of the renowned Sicilian sulphur basin.
Imera Forest
Imera Forest
The Imera Forest extends over more than one hundred hectares of holm oaks, oaks, and elms, preserving a biodiversity rooted in the ancient Mediterranean woodlands.
Church of Saint Barbara
Church of Saint Barbara
In the heart of the mining village of Santa Barbara, a few kilometers from Caltanissetta, the church dedicated to the patron saint of miners rises in a setting where maccalube mud volcanoes and old rural tracks (trazzere) tell the harsh story of Sicilian sulphur.
 

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