Porto Flavia, Sardinia, Italy May 14, 2025

Most ports rely on docks and cranes that extend into the shoreline. Porto Flavia on the Italian island of Sardinia took a completely different approach. This engineering marvel transformed a cliff into a gateway for Sardinia"s ore industry. Mining in the area has a history dating back thousands of years, from the Phoenicians and Romans to the industrial boom in the 20th century. Lead, zinc, coal, sulfur, barium, and silver were extracted from these rugged hills, but transporting them was a logistical nightmare. Ore had to be hauled by cart, loaded onto small boats, and then transferred to larger ships—a slow, costly, and inefficient process.

© Francesco Riccardo Iacomino/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

May 14, 2018Celebrating Bike to Work Week, May 14-18
May 14, 2019Cannes, France, in the spotlight
May 14, 2020Green fields of grain
May 14, 2021A misty morning in Brazil
May 14, 2022Windmills in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands
May 14, 2023Happy Mothers Day!
May 14, 2024Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Jul 18, 2021Grand finish of Le Tour
Jul 26, 2023International Day of Mangrove Conservation
Apr 19, 2022Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia
Feb 27, 2022International Polar Bear Day
Jun 28, 2023Pride Month
Aug 24, 2018A new park with a new mission
Sep 21, 2025Sea Otter Awareness Week
Jul 23, 2022National Moth Week
Sep 19, 2023Splügen Pass, Switzerland
Mar 8, 2022International Women s Day
Jun 6, 2021On this shore, history was made
Mar 16, 2022Panda Day
Jul 26, 2025International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem
Aug 1, 2023National Mountain Climbing Day
Dec 14, 2023Christmas Bird Count
Sep 22, 2024Autumnal equinox
Apr 4, 2025National Cherry Blossom Festival, Washington, DC
Sep 26, 2020Wandering Watkins Glen
Dec 1, 2024Antarctica Day
Aug 22, 2024Ocean City, Maryland, at sunrise
Oct 31, 2022Wychwood Forest, Oxfordshire, England
Oct 1, 2019It s Coffee Day
Aug 7, 2022National Lighthouse Day
May 12, 2024Happy Mothers Day!
Apr 30, 2023International Jazz Day
Nov 28, 2021Celebrating Panama s independence
Dec 3, 2025Sandhill cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico
Jan 27, 2023Guanahacabibes National Park, Cuba
Feb 9, 2018Speed skaters in the Gangneung Oval, Pyeongchang, South Korea
Dec 10, 2022Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia