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

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Mar 20, 2019Hello, spring!
Feb 22, 2022Twosday
Dec 26, 2025Boxing Day
Oct 13, 2019Acadia transformed
Mar 21, 2019The power of the forest
Nov 9, 2022European hedgehog in Sussex, England
Apr 25, 2018National Park Week: Wind Cave National Park
May 20, 2022World Bee Day
Sep 17, 2018Gateway to America
Mar 26, 2018The Unfinished Obelisk near Aswan, Egypt
Nov 7, 2020National Bison Day
May 1, 2021It s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Jan 5, 2022National Bird Day
Sep 10, 2022Mid-Autumn Festival
Feb 27, 2022International Polar Bear Day
May 17, 2025A delta in the Venetian Lagoon, Italy
Sep 18, 2019Celebrating Chile’s Independence Day
Oct 12, 2020Indigenous Peoples Day
Aug 2, 2025Petroglyphs near Fruita in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Jun 15, 2021Are you older than this lake?
Jul 18, 2021Grand finish of Le Tour
Aug 2, 2018The Aomori Nebuta Festival parade, Japan
Sep 9, 2018Welcome to ‘Hollywood North’
Mar 22, 2019Fresh water on the Silk Road
Sep 9, 2021Islands of the Salish Sea
Sep 2, 2025Camel thorn trees, Namib-Naukluft Park, Namibia
Jun 20, 2021Happy Father s Day
Jul 19, 2022National Bison Month
Jun 23, 2018Commemorating peace in Antarctica
Oct 7, 2025Fall colors below Mount Sneffels near Ridgway, Colorado