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The history of the Trapani salt pans develops and continues to live along two millennia of history of this corner of Sicilian territory. In a marine oasis artfully designed for the extraction of salt, man and nature are intertwined with bonds that have remained unbroken since ancient times. The conformation of the territory, human ingenuity and the course of history have shaped a rare and inimitable landscape for centuries.
Here we retrace the fundamental stages of the history of the Trapani salt pans from the beginning to the present day, to better understand how such an ancient production has survived time and men to reach us.
The origins of the history of the salt pans: from the Normans to the Angevins
We could easily date the birth of the salt pans in Trapani to times before the birth of Christ. It is thought that around the 5th century BC, the Phoenicians began to work salt on these coasts, strong in their commercial expansion in the Mediterranean and the great wealth that salt gave them in terms of political and economic power.
More concrete evidence of the presence of salt pans in Trapani can be found in documentation from the Norman era. From that time onwards, salt became a state monopoly, under the leadership of Frederick of Swabia. State production continued to exist even under the Angevins, who considered it a strategic economy for power over this region.
The Spanish and the peak of the salt trade in Trapani
It was from the Aragonese that the salt pans began to be privatized. Over time, part of the state control over salt production declined and the rich entrepreneurs of the time acquired the ownership and management of some old and new plants. This is where the growth period of the Trapani salt pans began. But the peak of the production and trade of salt in Trapani was reached and documented by testimonies from the Spanish era. In 1600 Trapani became the largest Mediterranean port for the salt trade. The salt pans of Trapani extend along the entire coast up to the city of Marsala with flourishing production facilities.
The decline from the First World War and the recovery with the WWF oasis
The salt trade and the production of the salt pans of Trapani remained flourishing even after the unification of Italy in 1861. The salt pans of Trapani were the only salt pans in Sicily and Italy to remain outside of nationalization and in the hands of private owners.
After a flourishing centuries-old past, with the arrival of the First and Second World Wars, the salt pans of Trapani began a slow and inexorable decline due to competition with more industrialized Italian salt pans and the poverty brought by the two world wars. Many salt pans were abandoned or deactivated, leaving a desolate landscape on the western coast of the province.
In this scenario, followed by devastating floods and continuous trade wars for the domination of the salt market, the shadow of wild urbanization appears. To save this natural paradise from cementing, thanks to the strength of a few producers, the salt pans of Trapani were reactivated and enhanced in order to preserve the man-nature ecosystem with a great naturalistic heritage. This is how in 1995 the Natural Reserve of the Salt Pans of Trapani and Paceco was born, managed by WWF Italy.
Visit the salt pans of Trapani
It is possible to visit the salt pans of Trapani through a guided tour lasting about 75 minutes, which also includes a guided visit inside the salt museum.