Porto Flavia, Sardinia, Italy May 14, 2025

Porto Flavia, Sardinia, Italy

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
May 14, 2026Pitigliano, Tuscany, Italy

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov 14, 2018Monet still makes an impression
May 28, 2022Bungle Bungle Range in Purnululu National Park, Australia
Aug 19, 2023World Photography Day
Oct 7, 2025Fall colors below Mount Sneffels near Ridgway, Colorado
Jun 2, 2022Queen Elizabeth s Platinum Jubilee
Oct 18, 2020Sitka shines on Alaska Day
Oct 11, 2019Art in the high desert
Aug 1, 2021Welcome to Scotland s garden
Apr 18, 2022Square Tower House in Mesa Verde National Park
Jul 26, 2022Mangrove Conservation Day
Feb 17, 2025Presidents Day
May 6, 2018A wetland in Västmanland, Sweden
Jul 7, 2019Traffic jam on the caribou highway
May 15, 2026Endangered Species Day
Feb 21, 2026Red fox, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Nov 17, 2023National Take a Hike Day
Aug 1, 2025Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Dec 6, 2025Celebrating 78 years of Everglades National Park
Aug 3, 2019Cetacean Saturday
Jul 14, 2022Shark Awareness Day
Aug 23, 2025St. Barbaras Cathedral, Kutná Hora, Czechia
Nov 3, 2022International Day for Biosphere Reserves
Jun 2, 2019An island for the birds
Dec 1, 2024Antarctica Day
Apr 1, 2024April Fools Day
Jan 2, 2025Ardez, Graubunden, Switzerland
Jan 25, 2019Fighting evil with costumes
Aug 17, 2021Wanderin Wawayanda
Jan 11, 2024Eurasian lynx
Dec 31, 2021New Year s Eve