Salina di Cervia
The Saline of Cervia were abandoned in the early 1990s by the State, to which they belonged, because they were considered uneconomical, compared to the huge Apulian and Sicilian salt pans more productive because of the climate, allowing salt production all year round.
The Cervia community tightened around its own salt pans, to save the identity that for centuries represented the territory and to avoid the swamping of the production area. Thus, on December 8th, 2002, the Salina di Cervia Park Society was set up by a group of local authorities, who became founding members.
The Cervia salt pan is the most northerly in Italy and has always been a natural reserve of population and nesting for many animal and plant species.
The salt pan consists of over 50 basins, surrounded by a canal of over 16 kilometers, which allows the water of the Adriatic to enter and exit the salt pan. The collection takes place in the heart of the salt pan: it is here that salt is formed and collected, in the traditional way, just as it used to be, but with the help of a conveyor belt and a carriage, which is a train in all respects. The use of machines for the collection dates back to 1959 and since then, every year from the end of August to the beginning of September, the ritual of the Cavadura, collection of Salt, takes place.
Production takes place by introducing the Adriatic Sea water from the inlet channel and concentrating the salt in the evaporation basins. A whole salt is obtained, because once collected it is washed exclusively with mother water, a water with a concentration of salinity much higher than that of the sea and lower than that of salt, rich in trace elements and naturally positive substances for the body and then left to dry in the yard. The sweetness of the Cervia salt derives from various factors such as the northern location and the composition of the water of the Adriatic Sea. These elements mean that the salt is made up of pure sodium chloride, with a low, almost non-existent presence of other more bitter chlorides, such as magnesium, calcium, potassium sulfate and magnesium chloride. Natural drying and the absence of chemical whitening make it a natural and highly soluble product. For these reasons, its color is has pink and greyish reflections.
