The old town of Iglesias, one of the most beautiful in southern Sardinia, is rich in monuments. Among these monuments, the Cathedral of Santa Chiara, which was built between 1285 and 1288 and later extended and redrawn in Gothic-Catalan style: today it houses many statues, paintings and valuable furnishings like the Late Gothic Cross of the 16th century and the 18th century canvas with Mary of the Assumption and Saints. And more, the Church of San Francesco, the Sanctuary of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the Salvaterra Castle. Outside the old town, there is the Church of Madonna di Valverde, built in the thirteenth century. It is worth noting, finally, the Museum of mining, which collects examples and instruments that have made the history of the mines of Iglesias.
Not far from the city of Iglesias there is the striking Valley of Antas, which keeps various archaeological remains including the homonymous temple, built in the 6th century B.C. and restructured under the Roman emperor Caracalla (211-217). Continuing towards the coast, there are the remains of the mines of Ingortosu and Montevecchio, significant exemplars of industrial archaeology. In particular, Montevecchio and the remains of its mines is one of the eight sites that are part of the Historical and Environmental Geo-mineral Park of Sardinia defined by the UNESCO as “World Heritage”.
Going southwards, towards the hinterland, there it is Carbonia, which is an interesting example of "new city": in fact, it was built in the late Thirties to give a house to the many workers who worked in the nearby coal mines (hence the name). At just 3 km from the city there is the archaeological area of Mount Sirai, with the remains of an ancient city formerly Phoenician and then Punic. The settlement is divided into several areas: the village, where we can still clearly distinguish the neighbourhoods, the squares, the houses; the religious structures, with the temple inside the city and the Tophet, an open sanctuary; the necropolis, with the ancient Phoenician burial graves and the subterranean rooms of the Carthaginians funerary hypogeum.
Nor should be forgotten the two islands of Sulcis: Sant'Antioco, which is connected to the mainland by an isthmus and rich in archaeological remains and San Pietro, with its unique high coasts, that fall sheer to the sea in the western part (where the destructive action due to marine erosion has created cliffs, caves and recesses of striking beauty); and low, straight and sandy coasts in the eastern part, where there are beautiful beaches.