The Trabonella mine is to me quite representative of a post-WWII socio-economic construction, built right on the shoulders of a long heritage of Sicilian sulfur mining. The mining ended in 1979, but parts of the concentration plant was in operation until 1986, processing crude sulfur from a few other remaining mines in the vicinity. There are some signs of a an EU funded effort to turn the site into a mining museum, which apparently did not turn out positively. This in turn to me highlights the challenge to turn the remains of a long industrial heritage into something that attracts the general public. A site like this deteriorates quite quickly and brutally, given the way the omnipresent elemental sulfur tends to convert into highly corrosive ions. Massive steel beams turn into something that reminds of dry bread, which in turn picks up water and the process accelerates even further. Preserving this in a state of conservation seems futile, given that this is probably not very high on the local priorities in this region. Eventually, structures will become dangerously weakened and collapse, where bulldozing becomes the only alternative.
Sad, but it is spectacular site as it stands now for sure.
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