For the Protection of a Great Heritage
Established in 2001 through Article 15, paragraph 2 of Law No. 93 of March 23, 2001, and officially instituted in 2005 with a Ministerial Decree of April 20, 2005, thanks to the initiative of the Ministry of the Environment and Territorial Protection in agreement with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (now split into the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism) and the Marche Region, the Park is dedicated to the conservation, recovery, study, and enhancement of the environmental, architectural, landscape, historical-cultural, demo-ethno-anthropological, and technical-scientific heritage of the Marche and Romagna mines. These mines, active between the 19th and 20th centuries, were important sulfur extraction centers at a European level and provided employment to thousands of people.
The Park, in addition to co-financing significant projects such as the archaeological mining site of Cabernardi (Sassoferrato) and the Sulphur Museum of Perticara (Novafeltria), honors the memory of generations of miners who contributed to the development of the national chemical sector through cultural, scientific, and educational projects. It also has the status of an Ecomuseum.
In 2019, Law 160/2019, article 1 paragraph 512, officially extended the jurisdiction of the Park to the Emilia-Romagna Region and other sulfur mines. Today, the Park protects extraction sites, processing facilities, archives, and historical testimonies of the Marche-Romagna sulfur basin located in the municipalities of Sassoferrato (Cabernardi, Percozzone, and Vallotica Mines), Pergola (Bellisio Solfare refinery), Arcevia (AN); Urbino (San Lorenzo in Solfinelli Mines); Novafeltria (Perticara-Marazzana Mine), Sant’Agata Feltria, Talamello (RN); and Cesena (Formignano Mine). The legal headquarters of the Park is in Sassoferrato, the operational headquarters in Pesaro, and the Technical Scientific Committee in Novafeltria.
The Marche-Romagna sulfur area extends from Cesenate to Fabrianese, passing through Montefeltro and Urbinate, and includes:
- Cabernardi, Percozzone, and Vallotica Mines
- Formignano Mine
- Perticara and Marazzana Mines
- Urbino Mines
- Bellisio Solfare Refinery
