Traditional salt production

The salt pans of the northern Adriatic had a great influence on the economies of the states and municipalities of the region for centuries. They were the subject of political disputes and wars, as salt was a valuable raw material and a strategic commodity in the trade of the time, important for food preservation and for the production of gunpowder.

At one time, in the Gulf of Trieste and Istria, in addition to the old Piran salt pans in Strunjan, St Lucy and Sečovlje, numerous other salt pans, such as the ones in Muggia, Koper and Izola, were active. They were not only subordinate to economic interests, but also often to the whims of nature, which sometimes prevented them from functioning for long periods of time. The Sečovlje and Strunjan salt pans are the only salt pans in this part of the Adriatic where the traditional production process is preserved, with salt being harvested daily.

Today, the economic role of the salt pans is subordinate to that of environmental and cultural protection, as the harvested salt is a delicacy for discerning palates, and the preservation of the salt workers' customs sustains awareness of the existence of the cultural heritage; moreover, the salt pans provide asylum for rare or special animal and plant species and are at the same time a valuable environmental reserve for mankind and a reminder of the once rich Mediterranean cultural and environmental heritage, which is slowly dying out.

Salt is produced in the salt fields, which include evaporation and crystallisation ponds. The sea water is conveyed from the evaporation ponds to the crystallisation ponds in free fall or with the aid of pumps, which in Fontanigge were driven by the wind, while in Lera, the Austrians introduced a century ago the conveyance procedure supported by motor pumps.

Crystallisation ponds account for about one fifth of all existing ponds, and salt is finally formed in them after sea water is conveyed through the evaporation ponds. Salt miners cultivate petula in the crystallisation beds, which is a layer several millimetres thick, consisting of algae, sadra and minerals, that prevents contact between the salt and the mud.

Salt workers use traditional tools in the production of salt. The salt is collected with the help of gaveri, wooden rakes used to pile it. The dried salt is stored in special warehouses.