
Centrale Elettrica di Naracauli
An essential resource for the major mining sites in the area
The Naracauli Power Plant, built in 1912, was designed to provide energy to the Ingurtosu-Gennamari mining complex: until 1926 it was an essential resource for the main mining sites in the area, such as Brassey, Bau, Pizzinurri, Gennamari, Ingurtosu and Casargiu. Subsequently, the energy supply was entrusted to the hydroelectric plant of Lake Omodeo, located near the dam on the Tirso River.
The construction of the plant was part of a broader plan to modernize the mining infrastructure promoted by the Gennamari-Ingurtosu Company under the direction of Lord Thomas Allnutt Brassey. Equipped with technologically advanced machinery, the structure was designed to ensure a constant flow of energy, essential for extraction and processing operations. The architecturally innovative building had a load-bearing structure in concrete and walls in schist and granite. The wooden roofs and clay tiles ensured its strength and durability.
The mining village of Naracauli, active between 1900 and 1914, arose next to the power plant, near the Brassey Washery; this housed the homes of workers and employees, along with essential services such as a school, a shop and a recreational club. The simple, rectangular houses were built with local materials and had pitched roofs. The power plant was the hub of the community, supporting the economic development of the area. With the decline of mining activities in the 1960s, the village was gradually abandoned; the power plant is now the only building to retain its roof, a testament to the solidity of the construction.
In the 1970s, a flood invaded the valley floor of the Rio Naracauli, destroying much of the infrastructure, including the main road. The latter was rebuilt at a higher altitude, leaving the valley floor exposed to the floods of the watercourse, fed by the springs of the Galleria Ledoux. Even today, the Rio periodically floods the building, even in the summer months.
Despite the degradation, the power plant and the remains of the village represent a destination of interest for enthusiasts of industrial archaeology and mining history, in an area where nature is gradually reclaiming the spaces that were once inhabited.
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