The Quarries of Spinazzola stand about 10km outside the village, not far from the medieval Castle of Garagnone. An unpaved road on the right hand side of the provincial road (SP 138) towards Andria leads to the site which is immediately beyond the wood.
The quarries are part of the Alta Murgia National Park and were used between 1950 and 1978 to mine bauxite, source of aluminium. The raw material was extracted, loaded onto lorries and sent off from Trani harbour to the foundries in Porto Marghera where the product was transformed.
The quarries ended operations in the early 1980s, due to competition of a purer and cheaper supply of the mineral from Africa, and the Spinazzola site was closed but not completely covered. This makes for an impressive scene, with a 50m deep crater where red, pink, orange and a thousand other colours meld together.
Apulia Film Commission
Cineporti di Puglia/Bari — c/o Fiera del Levante - Lungomare Starita 1 — 70132 Bari
Phone: +39 080 9752900
Fax: +39 080 9147464
Email: email@apuliafilmcommission.it
