Night Trip to Trabia Tallarita Mine

From the photographer: “The Trabia Tallarita mine, one of the largest and oldest sulfur mines in Sicily, extends for several hectares around the Salso River, occupying the two districts of the same name. It is precisely by traveling through the territory crossed by the river, between the territories of Sommatino and Riesi, that one gets a sense of how extensive the mining activity was. Various structures — including furnaces, the power station and numerous steel towers — stand among the slopes of the hills.

Walking along the paths that lead to the mine is like stepping into a time machine that takes you back to the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The steel skeletons of the towers, access points to the pits, seem to preserve the frenzy of mining activity, like the last guardians of this Sicilian history.

This is not just the story of a simple industrial activity, but also a reminder of the suffering of those who worked in precarious safety conditions. For a long time, so-called “carusi” were also employed, very young boys who carried the extracted ore on their shoulders. Work in the mine was characterized by exhausting shifts, poor ventilation and frequent accidents; the most serious caused the mine to close. It happened in 1961, when an underground fire caused the death of several miners.

I approach the extraction well accompanied by the roar of the River Salso, which is swollen from recent rains. I decide to photograph the sky from below, taking advantage of the height of the tower to emphasis the grandeur of the structure. Orion, Jupiter and the stars of the winter sky shine like silent witnesses to the history of the place. At the base, small asphodel flowers surround the tower and, as a whole, this view gives me a bittersweet taste for a memory that we risk losing if it is not properly preserved.”

Technical details:
Canon R3, Sigma 20mm, f/2, iso 1000, 13 sec