Quartu Sant'Elena, Fornaci Maxia

The Maxia furnaces occupy a large area in Via Brigata Sassari along the underground channel of the Rio Mannu and now reached by urban expansion. The traditional construction activity of Quartu Sant'Elena justifies the presence of factories dedicated to the production of bricks.
The structures that are still visible, grouped around vast spaces, have an external appearance that recalls both a “rustic” look and references to cultured architecture, according to a common practice in work architecture. They are large warehouses surrounded on the outside by brick pilasters and covered with a sloping roof. The characterizing element is the use of exposed brick, used alternately with voids in the openings of the external walls for the necessary ventilation of the interiors, due to the production needs of the plant.

History of studies
A review of the studies can be found in the bibliography relating to the fact sheet in the volume of the “History of Art in Sardinia” on nineteenth-century architecture (2001).

Bibliography
F. Masala, Architecture from the Unification of Italy to the End of the 20th Century. Nuoro, Ilisso, 2001, sheet 44

How to get there
The populous town of Quartu Sant'Elena is adjacent to the city of Cagliari.