There’s a corner of Sicily that looks more like a painting than a photograph: dazzling white expanses mirroring the sky, salt piled in neat rows like small pyramids, and on the horizon the ancient silhouettes of windmills. These are the Marsala Salt Pans, part of the Stagnone Nature Reserve, and for guests staying with us they make one of the most striking day trips around — just a few minutes’ drive from our holiday home.
A History Going Back to the Phoenicians
Salt harvesting in this area is nothing new: its roots go back more than two thousand years, to the Phoenician settlements on the island of Mozia, right across from this coast. Since then, the production method has remained remarkably similar: seawater is channeled through a series of shallow pools, where sun and wind slowly evaporate it, leaving the salt behind.
The Role of the Windmills
Walking along the banks of the salt pans, you’ll still come across the old windmills, once an essential part of a salt worker’s job: they pumped water from one pool to the next and ground the harvested salt. The best known and best preserved is the Mulino Infersa, now a small multimedia museum telling the story of this ancient trade — well worth a half-hour visit.
The Colour of the Salt
One of the loveliest surprises for first-time visitors is discovering that the salt isn’t always white: depending on the salt concentration and the microorganisms in the water, some pools take on pink hues that glow even brighter at sunset. It’s not unusual to spot elegant pink flamingos in the lagoon, drawn by these nutrient-rich waters — the Reserve is a protected area where fishing and hunting are banned, which has made it a small paradise for many species.
When to Go
If you want to catch the harvest at its peak, the right time is between May and August: at some salt pans you can even spend a few hours working alongside the salt workers and take home some salt you gathered yourself. But the salt pans offer striking views in every season.
Don’t Miss the Sunset
If we had to recommend just one moment of the day, it would be sunset. Several viewpoints along the lagoon — some with sun loungers, umbrellas and a drink in hand — let you watch the sun sink behind Isola Lunga, tinting the water and the salt mounds orange and pink. It’s one of those moments that stays with you, and a perfect way to close a day by the sea.
The Marsala Salt Pans and the Stagnone Nature Reserve are just a short distance from Casa Vacanza Zi Mari — an excursion we warmly recommend to our guests, perhaps combined with a visit to the island of Mozia or a sunset dinner overlooking the lagoon.