9 bedrooms villa, 1560 m²

Urbino, Pesaro and Urbino (province)

Villa La Zolfatara or "Palazzo di Minera"
History of a symbolic place of Italian industrial archeology
Origins and the Sulfuree Roots (XI - 17th century)

The history of the Villa La Zolfatara is inseparable from that of the sulphur mine of San Lorenzo in Zolonelli, in the Municipality of Urbino. Already in the 11th century, there has information of sulfur extraction in this area, which was rudimentally done, in the open sky.
In the later centuries, in particular since the 17th century, the first mining work began, prelude to the development of a true mining industry.

The Albani Concession and the Boom of the Miniera (XVIII - XIX century)

In 1743, Pope Benedict XIV gave the right of sulphur extraction to the Albani family, a noble house deeply connected to the Umbrian territory.
During the nineteenth century, the mine of San Lorenzo in Zolonelli reached its maximum expansion. In this context the Villa La Zolfatara became:
.Summer residence of the Albani Principles
. Management and management center of the mining business
. Administrative and operational tank of the mine
In 1881, a report of the Mining Service reports that the extraction was also carried out by a well called "Villa", testifying to the close connection between the building and the mining business.

The Anonymous Mining Society Solfuree Albani (1884 - 20th century
After the extinction of the Albani house (1855), the mine and the Villa passed to the Countess Antonia Litta Albani Castelbarco. In 1884, the Anonymous Miniere Society was born Solfuree Albani, who turned the villa into a real Palazzo di Miniere, extending it and using it to:
. Directorateal and administrative offices
. Accommodations for managers, engineers and technicians
. Logistics coordination of the production
Later, the company became a Trezza-Albani Company, which continued the extraction business until the first decades of the 20th century.

The Declino Minerario and the Abandono (1930 - 60s)
Already since the 30s, the production began to drop due to the exhaustion of the threads and technical difficulties.
In 1932, the activity was officially suspended. There were attempts to raise the situation in the 40s (Saturnia Society, 1943), but without success.
Between the 1950s and 1960s, the mine of San Lorenzo in Zolonelli was definitively closed, for:
.The uneconomicity of the underground extraction
.The competition of modern extraction methods (e.g. Frasch method in the USA)
.The new and expensive safety regulations
The Villa La Zolfatara, private of its industrial function, was abandoned or used only partially to be sold to private individuals.

Synthesis of the Travel of the Villa La Zolfatara
Period Function
XI-XVII sec. Rudimental sulphur extraction area
XVIII-XIX century. Summer residence of the Albani family
Nineteenth century. (end) Directional Center of the mine - "Palazzo di Minera"
1930-1960Declino industriali e vendamento ...