The great Andrea Camilleri to the question, “what do you miss about Sicily”, replied “U scrusciu du mari” (The sound of the sea). Land of sea, sun and lava. Land of ancient history and traditions. Nine provinces, nine dialects, hundreds of typical dishes, millions of fascinating places and villages. Right in Sicilia, in a very small town in the province of Trapani was born the salt museum.
Salt Museum in Trapani
It goes without saying how important the sea can be for the development of a land, and it is even more obvious how important it can be for an island. The sea gives, the sea takes. The first thing that immediately comes to mind when it comes to the sea is fishing. But there is an element that has affected even more in human history than fish. We are talking about the Salt. Just think of the infinite use we make of salt, still today, the words we use, the important definitions that the Italian language has associated with salt. The Salary, the Salt of the Earth, to name a few. Salt is a source of life and wealth.
The salt museum and the salt pans
We are in Paceco, western Sicily, where between sea and land, tradition has made these places known for salt flats. The museum, which to be precise is located in the Nubia district, was strongly desired by its owner, Mr. Alberto Culcasi. Immersed in the suggestive salt pans of Trapani, and surrounded by immense tanks for the processing of salt, it tells centuries of history through finds, photos, tools, escaped the fate of time. Another peculiar feature of the place is represented by the "Windmills". The mills are part of the tradition, and were very useful for the processing of salt, as well as being a refuge and shed for tools. The area is beautiful and evocative, so much so that "The salt pans" have become a landscape reserve under the responsibility of the WWF since 1995. Going to places such as the salt museum will take you back to the past.
Mills
The guides will take you along the paths that separate the basins, they will take you inside the mills, and will show you the tools used for centuries for processing. It will certainly not escape you how different the microclimate is in those areas. In fact, the constant presence of water, the scorching sun of Sicily and the wind create a real incubator for salt, with a very high percentage of humidity and above average temperatures. Thanks to Archimedes and his discoveries, and skilfully exploiting the air currents, the artisans of the used the mills for the extraction of the water necessary to fill the salt tanks. In addition to the "pumping" function, the movement of the blades activated a grinding mechanism. Huge and very heavy stone wheels, were turned to crush the salt, and make it finer and more suitable for sale.
