Italian Beauty brings you all the beauty there is.
Ready? Let's go!
Our first trip is to a strange museum on the outskirts of Rome.
It features the soul of popular art from the 1900s.
It's a fine line between being a hoarder and being the genius of theater props.
This museum curator will tell us his story.
The Walk of Santa Barbara is almost 400 km long.
Let's see the most beautiful and enticing views in southwestern Sardinia.
Together, we will visit this mining walk
in the Sulcis-Iglesiente.
Our cameras reached the Old Port of Genoa
to show us how this splendid city
continues to be the Lady of the Sea.
But first, a place that exists between dream and reality,
between a short story by Borges and a therapist's couch.
A universe made up by millions of objects,
fueled by the unique passion of its formidable founder.
MUSEUM
This is the crib of Totò De Curtis
used when his children were little.
THE AGOSTINELLI MUSEUM BY FEDERICO LODOLI
This entire puppet collection
features versions of Pinocchio.
These are all buttons and here I have
200 kg of buttons, but there are almost 1,300 kg more in storage.
Every night, when I go around to turn off all the lights,
I come here to renew my energy.
I run my hand through the buttons
and connect with the dead people who owned these buttons.
This gives me energy. That's more like it!
Canes... Embroidery... Hats...
In 1954, when I was 14, I started working as a huckster.
Like street vendors nowadays,
I went around selling small illustrations.
I mostly sold religious art.
MUSEUM FOUNDER IN ROME
I walked around with a famous Santari di Campli catalog.
However, many people didn't have money to pay for the illustrations,
so they traded objects.
It's the so-called "barter."
That's when I found my calling to collect objects
representative of popular culture and craft.
In 1959, I came to Rome.
Here, I had the opportunity to collect so many objects.
Between the 1960s and 1990s,
most of these items were being thrown away.
We were experiencing the economic boom,
so people were buying modern objects.
So you would collect them. - I'd gather them.
It's the largest collection of popular culture worldwide
in terms of quantity and variety.
Who told you it's the largest in the world?
Several journalists. Besides, I have items from 60 countries.
Aren't they all Italian objects?
No, they come from everywhere, more than 60 countries.
Give me some examples. Which countries?
All European countries.
People stop by with their campers and vans and tell me,
"I've moved from America, South or North America,
"from Australia, Polynesia, Asia, Russia..."
There was even a camper from Siberia.
Besides, I have 5,000 square meters of indoor space,
plus an even bigger outdoor space
where I keep quad bikes, mills, tractors, among other things.
People always see me as... - A little off?
Yes.
The "town lunatic" because I collect what others throw away.
My parents didn't like it and my siblings were against it.
The whole family disapproves of it.
So you have a family? - Yes, a son and a daughter.
What do they think of your work? - They oppose it.
They don't understand it?
They're rational people, and only care about the money.
It's my calling to save as many items as possible from being destroyed.
For me, it's a mission. I'm like Noah,
who tried to save as many animals from the Great Flood.
Here are examples of magic and occultism.
This is also part of the human existence.
It's good to keep pure specimens
of these beliefs.
EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE, AND A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING
Here's the astronomy section.
An unusual collection.
Different kinds of lamps.
The music corner.
Human fantasy has no limits here.
How many object collections do you have in here?
Currently, I have some 600 collections.
And how many objects are there in each collection?
For example, the barbed wire collection features 43 different types.
There are 43 different types of barbed wire?!
As for teeth, in the animal collection we have fossils.
From immigrants, too.
A fellow countryman moved to America
and came back with golden teeth. So, after he died,
the funeral home sent me this immigrant's gold teeth
and they told me the whole story.
"Here you go! The gold teeth of a dead immigrant."
That's exactly it.
Counting all of them, there are 300-400 types of teeth.
There are also stamps, about 120 kg of them.
You have 120 kg of stamps. - I weighed in 1 kg, times 280,000 items.
I weighed in 1 kg and did the math.
As for the old pins, I weighed in 1,500 kg of them.
For each kilo you have 1,100 pins, so there are 1.6 million pins total.
As for old coins, I have 300 or 400 kg worth of them.
That goes without saying that...
The dolls! All those puppets behind you!
There must be 1,000 dolls.
The umbrellas! Some 3,200 umbrellas,
the largest collection in the world. - Umbrellas?
Some are from the 1500s,
and there are also parasols,
and some water guards from the 1800s.
I see lamps, chandeliers and lanterns.
Yes, that's a plentiful collection.
Do you have any favorite items?
Those that you like the most? - No, they're like my children.
To me, each item is...
Every object is like a part of myself.
It's like parents and their children.
You don't say one is pretty and the other is ugly.
Are you interested in snow globes?
I have about 250 snow globes.
Because my mother has so many, she wants to get rid of some.
She can trade them for something else I have plenty of.
From an early age, I've always been fascinated by snow globes.
That was a young boy's fantasy!
Every object has a beautiful story to tell.
You were telling me you have a large collection of hair.
Exactly, because whenever
they sweep hair at the barber's shop,
I collect all the hair.
Why throw it away? - Why?
I keep it all in jars.
I also have hair clippings
belonging to San Giovanni Bosco,
Giuseppe and Anita Garibaldi,
among other hair and moustache clippings.
From everyone. - I keep it because it's history, too.
And this is your remarkable collection of arms and hands
belonging to dolls and mannequin, even the skeleton of a human arm.
It's an artistic rendition.
I know a bunch of artists. Schifano was one of them.
He has taught me one thing about pop art:
Everything at your fingertips,
can be transformed into art.
He created this art piece,
which celebrates life's difficulties
because every person has a mountain to climb.
How did you meet Schifano?
I met many painters: De Chirico, Dalí...
We've always had paint, fine arts articles,
brushes, canvases, or frames.
Painters were always looking for these materials.
I didn't make painters pay for supplies.
They'd give me a personal item as payment.
This is Al Capone's car. - Exactly. It was Al Capone's.
This is the first linotype machine invented by the Germans.
This is from a pipe organ used in churches in the 1700s.
This is a press from the 1500s.
The 1950s through the 2000s
represent a crucial period in the history of humanity.
In the span of 50 years, people changed their habits and customs,
including the way they think and behave.
In the past 50 years,
there was a rupture between the Old World and the New World.
Why not keep specimens of this historical period
that is so important to me?
Yours is a Herculean task!
This work is bigger than me.
I feel like a little ant standing... - At the foot of a hill.
But I can manage it, because it's been a passion of mine
and I've dedicated my life to it.
I've been here for 55-60 years
and I've never taken a break.
I've only been to a game once. I've only been to a club once.
Why is that?
I don't have time because all this keeps me busy.
I must keep it all organized.
But there's a cafe around the corner.
But it's a waste of time.
It isn't good for my health,
and I'd have to pay for it? I'll pass...
I don't even go to restaurants. - You haven't been to a restaurant?
I have, but only when I'm forced to. Otherwise, I don't go.
When it's time for celebration, for a party,
a wedding or a funeral, I try not to go
to save as much time as possible.
Yours is almost a religious mission.
It's religious without religion.
If you go look at my coffin...
You already have your coffin? - I got ahead of myself.
As a man from Abruzzo, that's something normal to me.
And I have items I want to take with me to the other side.
I've selected Buddha's book,
the Koran and the Bible.
Three books that have given me so much, in terms of moral education
and giving a direction to life.
That's all? - No, I have selected other objects.
Like what? - My first ocarina,
which I got in exchange for an illustration.
That's the first object I collected.
A little ball my father bought me at a store.
The slingshot I used as a kid.
Even Cucinotta, the actress? - Yes, because
I have a picture of my parents, my children...
And Maria Grazia Cucinotta's? - My wife doesn't like it.
Is she jealous?
To me, she's the ideal woman who doesn't quarrel.
I've met her at RAI studios, when we were being interviewed.
I didn't have it in me to tell her
that her picture will be in my coffin.
Maybe she'd be scared. - Yes.
She'd probably curse me out.
I decorated it with buttons.
I've always liked buttons, that's why I have 1,500 kg of them.
When I was young, at school,
we'd play with buttons.
I was always the silliest one around,
so I'd end up losing my buttons, on my shirts and pants,
when gambling with friends.
My mother didn't know what to do,
because I'd get home without any buttons.
As I was traveling through Italy,
I'd always be so happy whenever I came across a button.
I have so many buttons now, but no friends to play with.
You have teeth, but no bread. When you have bread, you're toothless.
Are you happy?
I'm the happiest man in the world!
Everything's beautiful!
Now, let's get started on The Walk of Santa Barbara.
We'll take a trip through a region that, throughout the century,
witnessed the end of an era: extractive metallurgy.
Today, they're looking to the future
and showcasing the local beauty as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000.
"WALK OF SANTA BARBARA: IGLESIAS TO MASUA" BY ANTONIO DEMMA
"Among the dangers of a rough mine, Barbara, we pray for you.
"Please listen to our ardent prayer
"that comes from our faithful hearts."
Saint Barbara is the patron saint of miners.
The social context
of a region like Iglesias is that, in the 1940s and 1950s
the Communist Party did as they pleased.
Considering this background,
Santa Barbara became known for its festivities.
It was above all ideologies.
Santa Barbara is one of the most worshiped saints
in connection to the historical local experience...
BISHOP OF IGLESIAS
...to the mining experience, to life underground.
The devotion is much alive, despite the mines being closed.
That is why we wanted to dedicate
this path to the patron saint of miners.
It's a loop from and to Iglesias
and it is 400 km long.
You come across sites that are typical
of the legacy left behind by Sardinia miners.
Starting in the 1700s, this has been a pilgrimage destination.
SISTER ELISABETTA, MOTHER SUPERIOR GOOD PATH SANCTUARY
Men, women, and young people came to show gratitude to Our Lady.
In regards to the pilgrimage,
I like to think about it this way:
they come through, and we remain here.
Ours is an experience of support
for our brothers and sisters in their journey.
We're at the tracks of Saint John's Mine.
PRESIDENT DOMUSNOVAS SPELOLOGICAL GROUP
This is the exit where mine carts
would bring out the production of this sector of the Saint John's mine.
This is the Carolina well.
Not sure whom it's named after.
In 1952, there were excavations
in this chamber and they came across this natural grotto.
It is believed to be one of the oldest in Europe.
We believe this grotto dates back to
the late Paleozoic era.
It's over 400 million years old.
The first miner to enter the grotto
was stunned by the sight of it.
Along the chain of command,
everyone agreed this grotto should be protected.
Back then, they understood they were before
a historical geological temple.
Today, it is recognized internationally.
Everything we see in this enormous concretion,
this column measuring 28 meters,
is part of the grotto's recent history.
It's only a few million years old, which is much younger than the rest of it.
We're standing by some barite crystal,
which has a honeycomb structure.
Currently, we can see calcite covering it.
Here we can see how these barite crystals
are framed inside the calcite.
In theory, this grotto shouldn't exist.
These insoluble mineral crystals
are covering the walls
of an environment that exists due to the dissolution phenomenon.
The alignment we see in this large concretion
is but a fracture that has been cemented by calcite.
The fracture was most likely caused by tectonic plates, during an earthquake.
After the concretion process, it looks like a dinosaur's backbone.
Above us is the section that has been identified as "the cradle."
We're still exploring this high area.
All grottos are a testament to time,
climate, geological history... They're records.
"This Sardinian geomineral, historical and environmental park
"is the keeper and supporter
"of the memories of men who dedicated their efforts and life
"to write the history of our mines."
Here we are at a place where
we had the so-called "innocent bridges."
Here we built shelves,
so we could have makeshift platforms,
where we would place our mattresses
to get some sleep.
My bed used to be right here.
I slept here for a year.
We're in the winch room of the Monteponi mine.
PRESIDENT SELLA WELL ASSOCIATION
This is the Sella Well, which we reach through the Villa Marina tunnel.
It was excavated 174 meters below sea level.
Local associations believed that
the best way to show appreciation for this great legacy
left by the thousand-year-old Sardinian mining tradition
was to build the Geomineral Historic and Environmental Park of Sardinia.
The first step
was having it recognized as a UNESCO heritage site.
It was recognized as a heritage site in 1997.
In 1998, the "Cagliari Letter" was signed.
It established the efforts to be made by all parties,
especially the Italian government,
in enacting laws governing the geomineral park
to recover and promote this legacy.
During a guided tour on November 5, 2000,
we came into this winch room
and I gathered all visitors around
and announced I would not leave the site
until the government had passed a law to create the geomineral park.
My little stunt cost me one year underground.
One year later, on November 6, 2001,
the then Minister of the Environment came to the mine
and delivered everything we had been asking for.
In this very same winch room,
we created the Sella Well Association.
As the association grew,
volunteers had the idea of recovering the forgotten infrastructure
and the old mining roads.
We then started opening trails
and connecting them:
trails, mule tracks, cart tracks, railways,
and the industrial archaeology
that has been left behind by our miners.
The Sella Well is a mining structure
that was first built between 1872...
ENGINEER SELLA WELL ASSOCIATION
...and 1874 to seek authorization to harvest,
or rather extract minerals underground.
I was only 14 when I first started working
at the washery where...
FORMER MINER
...different minerals were separated, then I joined the Army in 1951.
When I came back in November,
they sent me straight to the mines
60 meters underground.
One day, when a turner got sick,
I was sent to work here in 1954.
Working as a turner has always been a passion of mine.
Guys, let's go in and put our helmets on.
This way.
Is it your first day here?
We'll resume the work we had started recently.
Those working on the turner, complete the cleaning procedure.
The others can finish cleaning the tiles.
Alright? Everyone knows what to do.
Let's get started.
It's precision work, and it takes passion.
We used to have 12 turners working here.
Each one was an expert in what they did.
Monteponi acquired the machinery,
which was very complex.
Once at the mine, we'd disassemble it piece by piece,
to the very last part.
Then we would create duplicates in wood.
When a part broke,
we'd take the wooden piece and weld a replacement.
I'm not talking about small parts only.
I'm talking about parts
like the rotor of the pump, which was huge.
Imagine making wooden models.
These carpenters were artists!
FORMER DIRECTOR SARDINIA GEOMINERAL PARK
Welders were artists, too!
The mine was full of artists,
from designers to workers.
Some people only work for their paycheck.
Others are passionate about what they do.
Those who are passionate find a specialization,
because they're always trying to improve themselves.
They want their work to be more sophisticated.
That is it.
Thank you all. Thank you.
As volunteers at the Sella Well Association...
VOLUNTEER SELLA WELL ASSOCIATION
...we manage the School and Work program.
This mechanic workshop
has a demand for skilled labor to open the museum.
We're working towards becoming a museum
thanks to the work of high school students
who are helping us turn this place into a museum.
The idea is to make the most of what's already here.
Most of the museum will be dedicated to industrial archaeology.
It will be a machinery and mining museum.
Show those who are watching us
so they'll understand that,
despite the technological progress we have achieved today...
but the past has opened our eyes to get us here.
We see this legacy as an asset,
and we want to include it
in our future projects.
We want this land to have a bright future,
so everyone is happy and will never want to leave this town,
like I don't.
As kids, we'd come down from Nebida to the sea.
FORMER MINER
We wanted to learn how to swim and used two channels.
In Sardinian, they're called Sa Gora Manna
and Sa Gora Vittica.
We used the Vittica channel when we were very young.
When we got to a certain age, what would we do?
Those who hadn't learn to swim yet
would come closer to Sa Gora Manna.
We'd push them in the water so they'd learn how to swim.
To come out, they must come to the surface.
This is an old hopper
where they would pour minerals.
They'd pile minerals up, and then loaded them for transportation.
These are the paths
that miners used to use to come and work
at the San Rebbasciu mine.
That's where they extracted minerals that would be transported out.
People from different towns
in the surrounding region would come here to find work.
These mines were made up by people
who would move where labor was needed.
People were originally from everywhere in the region,
like France and Belgium,
where they couldn't find jobs, so they'd leave in search of work.
I wouldn't say they worked like slaves,
but...
It was pretty close.
There used to be two tracks to take workers to the La Marmora.
They followed all steps there.
The material would gather there,
then be transported out on boats.
This is where our fathers used to work.
It was a labor of blood, sweat, and tears.
I used to work at mines in Nebida,
Calligaris, Acquaresi, and Calitas.
I learned all about the old labor:
hoes... cauldrons...
loading cars...
The mountain we see up ahead
is part of the Walk of Santa Barbara.
That little mountain is Monte Nai.
Leaving Masua, we follow the coast over Porto Flavia,
and we finish it off towards Cala Domestica.
Fabulous, isn't it?
Porto Flavia is an unusual harbor.
It isn't a common mining town,
and it was built between 1922 and 1924
with the single purpose of
having minerals loaded directly onto ships.
The mining convoy arrived here.
While in other ports we see external storage silos,
here they had been excavated inside the rocks.
Once the ship arrived,
it would get close to the cliff.
Out of the conveyor belt,
the material would fall directly into the ship's hold.
Ships were loaded within four hours,
and left for foundries in the mainland or in northern Europe.
This tunnel structure in Porto Flavia,
like most part of mines in the Iglesias region,
was built inside a rock that is 500 million years old.
When this area in Iglesias
was practically an atoll
within a much wider Mediterranean,
the rest of Italy, the Alps and Apennines, were underwater.
Consequently, this is the oldest part of Italy.
In this ancient region,
the most important mines were created.
Here is one of the most beautiful views you'll ever see.
This is one of the most perfect rocks,
because limestone gives you courage, it keeps a hold of you.
You climb with your feet.
MOUNTAIN CLIMBER
Your hands are just for balance. You climb with your mind.
I must come and climb in Sardinia at least once a year...
MOUNTAIN CLIMBER
...whether in the spring or in the fall.
I'm from Nebida and I started climbing about 20 years ago.
I fell in love with the sport after climbing with friends.
I started little by little.
I started climbing 46 years ago.
I'm over 60 now, but won't tell you how much.
When you enjoy doing something, you don't just do it, you live it.
I worked at a plant in Portovesme for almost 30 years.
I work at the Carbosulcis coal mine.
MOUNTAIN CLIMBER
I'm one of the last miners in Italy, I believe.
This kind of sport works as a detox process
for anything you may breathe in at work.
This is Sardinia.
What you're breathing in, what you see...
This is my Sardinia.
Subtitles: Babel Subtitling - babelSUB.be