The nature reserve of the Saline Trapani and Paceco is a nature reserve of Sicily established in 1995, which covers almost 1000 hectares in the territory of the towns of Trapani and Paceco. The reserve, inside which the ancient salt extraction activity is carried out, is an important wetland that offers shelter to numerous species of migratory birds. It is managed by the WWF.
The Reserve includes a coastline covering almost a thousand hectares, divided into zone A of Reserve (707 ha) and zone B of Pre-Reserve (278.75 ha).
Much of the reserve is made up of private-owned salt pans, where salt extraction is still practiced according to traditional techniques in use for centuries. Of considerable landscape impact the presence of numerous windmills used to pump the water between the basins.
The nature reserve of the salt pans allows us to continue to see an ancient trade, which allowed man to obtain the only means known to preserve food: salt. Today this place still retains the windmills that were used to grind salt from spring, and the landscape between the mountains of salt and the sea with its fantastic sunsets and in spring in these places you can meet the pink flamingos that make a stop in the their long migration.
Salt production
Despite being a reserve, the historic-traditional activity of saliculture is still carried out. In fact, a large part of the reserve consists of privately owned salt pans, where the cultivation and production of sea salt is permitted. Salt production is constantly increasing: from the establishment of the Reserve to today it has increased from about 50,000 to about 80,000 tons / year, and a new saline is also being set up. In addition to those that belong to the Sosalt, there are: Salinagrande (the oldest of Trapani), the salt Galia Teresina, the Salina Culcasi, the saline Calcara (around the Isolotto della Calcara), the salt Galia.