From mine industries to a place of culture, tourism, research and higher education: case study of the great mine Serbariu
Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development
ISSN: 2044-1266
Article publication date: 26 January 2022
Issue publication date: 15 March 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how closed factories could be transformed and provide a path for sustainable development for a territory. The authors focus on the case of the Great Mine Serbariu, located in Carbonia (Sardinia), which used to be the largest coal mine in Italy between 1939 and 1964.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt a qualitative research design based on an exploratory single-case study, drawing on interviews with the main stakeholders, on a survey conducted among 5,158 visitors, and on administrative documentation of the City Council.
Findings
The analysis of the Great Mine Serbariu case showed that the regeneration of an exhausted mine serves a model of sustainable development, especially for the redevelopment of other urban and industrial degraded areas. The Great mine Serbariu was restored and turned into a place of culture, tourism, research and higher education, with the Italian Cultural Centre of Coal Mining (ICCCM) establishing its headquarters in the heart of the former mine. It attracted almost 220,000 visitors, generating both domestic and international tourist flows and making an industrial heritage a real resource for the area.
Originality/value
This article advances the authors’ understanding of how closed industries could become an instrument for sustainable development on the social, economic, touristic and cultural levels. This study would help local governments with examples to enhance the historical resources to create a new identity that led to a sustainable development of an urban landscape, and to create networks with other comparable museums all over Europe to better exploit the touristic and cultural potential.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the ICCCM museum staff that has helped us to carry out this research, Mauro Villani and Marilena Crisafulli, and the Carbonia municipality representatives Salvatore Cherchi, Giuseppe Casti, Loriana Pitzalis, Fabio Desogus for answering all questions during the interviews. The authors also would like to thank Christelle Traboulsi, Ernestina Giudici, Rinaldo Brau and Elisabetta Fois for their valuable comments that greatly improved the manuscript.
Funding: Not applicable.
Conflict of interest: The author(s) declare(s) that he/she/they has/have no conflict of interest.
Availability of data and material: The data that support the findings of this study are provided and they will be uploaded to the Journal Repository once the paper has been conditionally accepted.
Citation
Pau, S., Contu, G. and Rundeddu, V. (2024), "From mine industries to a place of culture, tourism, research and higher education: case study of the great mine Serbariu", Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 282-296. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCHMSD-03-2021-0044
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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