The former sulfur mines, located in the municipal area of Tufo, fulfilled their mining function until the second half of the twentieth century.
It is said that the industrial history of the village began way back in 1866, when Mr. Francesco Di Marzo, taking a hunting walk, came across two shepherds who were burning strange stones to warm up: from the acrid smell given off by the combustion, he understood that it was sulphur. It didn't take long before he discovered the deposit on the right read more
The former sulfur mines, located in the municipal area of Tufo, fulfilled their mining function until the second half of the twentieth century.
It is said that the industrial history of the village began way back in 1866, when Mr. Francesco Di Marzo, taking a hunting walk, came across two shepherds who were burning strange stones to warm up: from the acrid smell given off by the combustion, he understood that it was sulphur. It didn't take long before he discovered the deposit on the right bank of the Sabato river, in a geologically very different area from the nearby left bank. From that episode, the Di Marzo mining company was born which, together with the Società Anonima Industrie Minerarie of Altavilla Irpina, constituted a huge working basin for an area, until that time, known exclusively for the production of Greco di Tufo DOCG .
The activity lasted intensely for almost a century, until a gradual decline that began after the Second World War, also due to competition with American sulfur, extracted at very competitive costs. In Tufo, the mines remained active until the early 1960s and extraction continued until 1972, while the definitive liquidation of the company took place in 1992. The presence and availability of sulfur then helped the explosion of the cultivation of the vine throughout Irpinia, giving rise to the so-called sulphuring technique which allows the grapes to be protected from external pathogens.
The enhancement of this wealth, today, is at the center of the idea of developing an industrial archeology project, aimed at recovering a successful story in the entrepreneurship of green Irpinia. read less
