‘Something I cannot look at’: Ruins and dialectic of temporalities in southwest post-mining Sardinia (Italy)

Bachis, Francesco

First

2025-01-01

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Abstract

Based on extensive fieldwork in southwest Sardinia focused on the memories of former miners, this article explores the dialectic of temporalities within post- mining communities. Through the perspectives of former miners and indivi- duals involved in heritage-making, the article examines different pathways emerging from the decline of the mining industry and the resulting material and social remnants. This framework relates to the material and social aspects of ruins and ruination, as Ann Stoler discusses. I analyse the closure of mines through De Martino’s concepts of cultural apocalypse and crisis of presence. The article explores how the crisis, triggered by mine closures, leads to various forms of engaging with the mining past. Different subjects interpret and use ruins and ruinations, revitalizing mining history differently. While heritage- makers view ruins as monuments to be promoted for tourism, they also perceive environmental degradation as active ruination requiring remediation. Conversely, former miners see remnants of mining as ongoing ruination, sym- bolizing decay and the risk of a crisis of presence. The social relations forged within the mining community are seen as a form of mythical ruin that can be employed to revive social relations, primarily those of class, which have faded over time.