Guspini (Gùspini in Sardinian) is a town and comune of about 12,000 inhabitants in west Sardinia (Italy), in the province of South Sardinia. It is 62 km from the capital Cagliari and 14.6 km from the railway station at San Gavino Monreale. Close to Guspini, at the mines of Montevecchio and Gennamari, galena and sphalerite were extracted in the past. Today the people at Guspini are concentrated on agriculture, on tourism and on smaller to middle enterprises. Close to Guspini are some well-built nuraghes and the Phoenician-Punic archaeological site of Neapolis.

History

The first traces of human settlement in the area of Guspini trace back to prior the Nuragic period. Traces of Nuragic, Phoenician-Punic, Bizantine and Roman settlements have been found. The town has a medieval structure with the Church of Santa Maria of Malta which was founded by the knights of the same order, as the most ancient trace. In the Middle Ages the town was part of the Giudicato of Arborea, whose rulers possessed a castle on a nearby mount built in 1100, on the Mount Arcuentu. From the 19th century Guspini's history was strictly linked to the mines of Montevecchio.

Monuments and places of interest

Religious buildings

Civilian buildings

Archeology

Pre-Nuragic sites

Nuragic sites The other most interesting archeological site is the Phoenician-Punic and later Roman city of Neapolis.

Mines

Among the East mines: Among the West mines:

Natural monuments