Carbonia, Sardinia
Carbonia
| |
|---|---|
| Comune di Carbonia | |
Panorama of Carbonia | |
|
Flag Coat of arms | |
Carbonia Location of Carbonia in Sardinia | |
| Coordinates: 39°10′2″N 8°31′20″E / 39.16722°N 8.52222°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Sardinia |
| Province | Sulcis Iglesiente |
| Frazioni | Bacu Abis, Barbusi, Cannas, Corongiu, Cortoghiana, Genna Corriga, Flumentepido, Is Gannaus, Is Meis, Medadeddu, Medau Desogus, Serbariu, Sirai, Sirri |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Pietro Morittu (PD) |
| Area | |
• Total | 145.54 km2 (56.19 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 111 m (364 ft) |
| Population (2025)[1] | |
• Total | 25,588 |
| • Density | 175.81/km2 (455.36/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Carboniesi or Carboniensi |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 09013 |
| Dialing code | 0781 |
| Patron saint | St. Pontian |
| Saint day | Third Thursday of May |
| Website | Official website |
Carbonia (Italian: [karˈbɔːnja] ⓘ; Sardinian: Carbònia; Campidanese: Crabònia [kɾaˈβɔɲa]) is a town and municipality, along with Iglesias is the co-capital of the province of Sulcis Iglesiente in the autonomous region of Sardinia in Italy. It is located in the south-west of the island, at about an hour by car or train from the regional capital, Cagliari. With a population of 25,588, it is the largest municipality in the province and the 9th-largest in Sardinia.
History
Carbonia was founded on the 18 December 1938 by the Fascist regime. Benito Mussolini ordered the building of the city and was present at its inauguration. The city was built to provide housing for the workforce of the nearby mines. The name Carbonia comes from the Italian word for coal, abundant in the area.
Vitale Piga was appointed mayor of Carbonia and served in that capacity from September 28, 1939 to April 24, 1942.[2] Piga authored a book on the coalfields of the Sulcis region titled Il giacimento carbonifero del Sulcis: Carbonia.[3]
The city has grown since its founding in 1938 due to immigration from elsewhere on the island and from mainland Italy (in particular from the regions of Veneto, Sicily, Abruzzo, Marche, Basilicata and Campania),[4] reaching about 45,000 residents in 1951. Currently it has a population of over 28,000.
Since the closing of the mines in the 1970s, Carbonia has had a high unemployment rate. After the closure of the mines the town's economy was converted to the metallurgical industry. Today most Carbonians are employed in heavy industry, and in the tertiary sector.
Climate
| Climate data for Carbonia (Bacu Abis) (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) |
14.1 (57.4) |
17.0 (62.6) |
19.0 (66.2) |
23.8 (74.8) |
27.9 (82.2) |
30.7 (87.3) |
31.1 (88.0) |
27.5 (81.5) |
23.7 (74.7) |
18.5 (65.3) |
14.6 (58.3) |
21.8 (71.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 10.5 (50.9) |
10.4 (50.7) |
13.0 (55.4) |
14.7 (58.5) |
18.9 (66.0) |
22.6 (72.7) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.9 (78.6) |
22.6 (72.7) |
19.3 (66.7) |
14.9 (58.8) |
11.3 (52.3) |
17.5 (63.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) |
6.7 (44.1) |
8.9 (48.0) |
10.3 (50.5) |
13.9 (57.0) |
17.3 (63.1) |
20.1 (68.2) |
20.6 (69.1) |
17.6 (63.7) |
14.8 (58.6) |
11.2 (52.2) |
7.9 (46.2) |
13.0 (55.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 56.0 (2.20) |
58.3 (2.30) |
40.9 (1.61) |
56.0 (2.20) |
31.8 (1.25) |
16.7 (0.66) |
1.1 (0.04) |
7.2 (0.28) |
37.0 (1.46) |
68.2 (2.69) |
92.6 (3.65) |
82.2 (3.24) |
548 (21.58) |
| Source: Sistema nazionale protezione ambiente[5] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1861 | 1,798 | — |
| 1871 | 2,015 | +12.1% |
| 1881 | 2,379 | +18.1% |
| 1901 | 3,109 | +30.7% |
| 1911 | 2,925 | −5.9% |
| 1921 | 3,628 | +24.0% |
| 1931 | 4,201 | +15.8% |
| 1936 | 4,415 | +5.1% |
| 1951 | 45,125 | +922.1% |
| 1961 | 35,327 | −21.7% |
| 1971 | 30,957 | −12.4% |
| 1981 | 32,180 | +4.0% |
| 1991 | 32,887 | +2.2% |
| 2001 | 30,447 | −7.4% |
| 2011 | 28,882 | −5.1% |
| 2021 | 26,565 | −8.0% |
| Source: ISTAT[6][7] | ||
As of 2025, Carbonia has a population of 25,588, of whom 47.9% are male and 52.1% are female. Minors make up 10.4% of the population, and seniors make up 33.6%, compared to the Italian average of 14.9% and 24.7% respectively.[1]
As of 2024, the foreign-born population is 833, equal to 3.2% of the population. The 5 largest foreign nationalities are Germans (131), Romanians (117), French (95), Brazilians (48) and Chinese (41).[8]
| Country | Population |
|---|---|
| Germany | 131 |
| Romania | 117 |
| France | 95 |
| Brazil | 48 |
| China | 41 |
| Senegal | 38 |
| Morocco | 35 |
| Switzerland | 33 |
| Belgium | 20 |
| Russia | 16 |
| Serbia | 15 |
| Tunisia | 15 |
| United Kingdom | 15 |
| Nigeria | 14 |
| Algeria | 13 |
Government
Main sights
- Monte Sirai, a hill in the surroundings of the city that hosts the ruins of a Phoenician-Carthaginian built-up area
- Domus de janas in the surroundings of Sirri and Monte Crobu
- Romanesque church of Santa Maria di Flumentepido (11th century)
- Former Serbariu Coal Mine, now turned into a museum and a site of industrial archaeology
International relations
Twin towns - sister cities
Carbonia is twinned with:
- Oberhausen, Germany
- Behren-lès-Forbach, France, since 2005
- Labin, Croatia, since 2010
- Raša, Croatia, since 2010
Gallery
-
Piazza Roma
-
Church of St. Pontian
-
Serbariu mine
References
- ^ a b "Resident population". ISTAT.
- ^ "Carbonia ieri sera ha ricordato Vitale Piga, podestà della città dal 28 settembre 1939 al 24 aprile 1942". La Provincia del Sulcis Iglesiente (in Italian). 11 November 2017. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
- ^ Piga, Vitale (1938). Il giacimento carbonifero del Sulcis: Carbonia (in Italian). Confederazione Fascista Dei Lavoratori Dell'industria.
- ^ Stefano Musso (1999). Tra fabbrica e società - Mondi operai nell'Italia del Novecento. Feltrinelli. p. 321. ISBN 88-07-99054-7.
- ^ "Climatology of Sardinia for the thirty-year period 1981-2010". Sistema nazionale protezione ambiente. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
- ^ "Popolazione residente dei comuni. Censimenti dal 1861 al 1991" [Resident population of the municipalities. Censuses from 1861 to 1991] (PDF) (in Italian). ISTAT.
- ^ "Dashboard Permanent census of population and housing". ISTAT.
- ^ a b "Resident population by sex, municipality and citizenship". ISTAT.
External links