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:

Jan 5, 2019Art abounds at the Palais Garnier
Oct 21, 2019The Guggenheim turns 60
Apr 15, 2021Jackie Robinson Day
Dec 17, 2023Bohemian waxwings in Canada
Jun 8, 2020A day for the oceans
Oct 9, 2024Aspens in the White River National Forest, Colorado
Oct 30, 2025Camels at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India
Apr 14, 2019A view fit for a queen
Jan 9, 2019What, no escalator?
Oct 31, 2020Twas a night just like tonight
Jan 23, 2024Atolls in the Maldives
Dec 3, 2022Art Basel Miami Beach
May 16, 2022Burrowing owls
Jan 10, 2023Lake Peipus, Estonia
Aug 23, 2018Riding the bore tide at Turnagain Arm, Cook Inlet, Alaska
Apr 20, 2022Mute swans
Apr 9, 2019The glowing waters of the Matsu Islands
Apr 1, 2023Frog Month
May 31, 2024Gunnerside, Yorkshire Dales National Park, England
Dec 8, 2019Mod gear
Nov 7, 2018A triumph of light
Mar 13, 2021All hail the king of shrubs
Jan 8, 2023Breckenridge, Colorado
May 24, 2018East River crossing
Jan 30, 2022Halo around the sun
May 10, 2023Cordouan Lighthouse, France
Apr 1, 2021Why do elephants hide in trees?
May 14, 2020Green fields of grain
Jun 15, 2025Happy Fathers Day!
Aug 2, 2021This reef is nowhere near the sea…