The saltworks
Trapani&Paceco
"Those who really want to talk about saltworks should come here, in the west of Sicily, to this coastal area that covers an area of about 1,400 hectares; old, very old saltworks, founded by the Phoenicians" (Voltaire).
The saltworks of Trapani fall within the Nature Reserve of the Saline di Trapani-Paceco, one of the most uncontaminated reserves in Western Sicily.
In these saltworks, which extend for about 1000 hectares, for thousands of years man's knowledge and tradition has harmoniously combined with nature to create the Sea Salt of Trapani. In fact, it is here that weproduce most of the product that is used by the entire Italian food chain and that can be found on the shelves of supermarkets, delicatessens and restaurants all over the world.
These saltworks are the emblem of the perfect integration between tradition and the most modern technology applied to salt.
The saltworks
Hector and Infersa- Marsala
Ancient salt pans from Phoenician times with windmills functioning to this day.
A natural and cultural park dedicated to climbing tourism, on the west coast of Sicily in the city of Marsala.
SEI - Saline Ettore and Infersa are where we produce our whole sea salt, rigorously hand-picked using traditional methods handed down through generations. It is here that the Re - Sale Marino line was born, composed of fior di sale, salt crystals and also Sale Unico® (Trapani IGP Sea Salt) the first to have the certificate in Italy.
These salt pans represent a rare testimony of virtuous collaboration between man and nature, in fact they are an extremely evocative place where the "salt culture" has shaped the territory, in full respect of the ecosystem, in the wake of a multi-secular tradition.
The Windmill of the'500, still fully functional today, is the starting point of the activities of "salt tourism" in the salt marsh; its interior can be visited and houses a multimedia trail, experiential activities such as a guided walk, participation in salt harvesting and salt tasting.
The Mamma Caura, an old barracks from the 1930s where salt duty was collected in its time, is now the exclusive restaurante and sunset bar inside the salt pans a unique place to enjoy dishes and cocktails made with salt-pan ingredients and see one of Sicily's most beautiful sunsets while sipping an aperitif.
The saltworks
The "Isola Grande"
Isola Grande, familiarly called Isola Lunga by locals, is the largest island in the Stagnone of Marsala, with an area of about 120 hectares and a length of about 10 km.
The Isola Grande saltworks was for many, many years the largest saltworks in the province of Trapani and probably the first saltworks designed according to a logic of economies of scale and "industrialization." Here, too, sea salt is harvested by machine and then brought to the farm by barge, just as it was once done by means of the schifazzi (in Sicily, in the Trapani area, a three-masted lateen-sailed boat with a sloping foremast and triangular main sail used mainly for salt transport and sponge fishing was called a schifazzo). Until the 1960s Isola Lunga was inhabited and cultivated.
In 2005, the property renovated the facilities and transformed it into a Salt Resort by expanding the concept of experiential tourism conceived at the Hector and Infersa salt flats more than 10 years earlier: salt tourism.
The Salt Resort of SEI - Isola Lunga has charming rooms with views of salt marsh, mills and Egadi Islands, restaurant, well-equipped kitchen, conference room and reception. The facility is suitable for events, weddings and visits during the summer period between June and September.
During the day, it is possible to try "saliturismo" experiences in the naturalistic and sensory context through such as the salt marsh wellness trail, trekking, aperitifs and dinners under the stars.
