Cervia: "The White Gold"

The Salina di Cervia is the one located further north in Italy, one third of the entire extension of its municipality, is composed of more than 50 basins, surrounded by a 16-kilometer canal that allows the water of the Adriatic sea to enter and go out.

The method by which the salt is extracted is called "Cervese", because it is practiced only in Cervia, which is why it is called the city of salt.

The sea water is let in from the tributary channel in Milano Marittima, passes into the canals that run through the entire area of ​​the territory, where it is made to drain with the wind, evaporate and concentrate with the sun.
 
Cavadura is the salt harvest, which takes place once a year (in August).
 
 
 
The salt that is collected is wet and very heavy.


SWEET SALT OF CERVIA is a whole sea salt:
 
• marine, because its origin is sea water;
 
• integral, because once harvested it is washed exclusively with mother water and then left to dry in the piles of salt that you see when arriving in Cervia. Furthermore, the choice of neither artificially drying nor

chemically bleaching the salt leaves it integral and highly soluble. Thanks to this meticulous processing and its natural humidity, all the trace elements present in sea water are preserved.
 
It is defined as "sweet" because it contains a limited quantity of magnesium chloride and calcium sulphate, the so-called "bitter" salts; the resulting salt is made up of pure sodium chloride. Its typical color is pink,


which derives from the presence, in the salt basins, of the dunaliella seaweed, rich in lycopene and beta-carotene.
 

 
In the past, salt was a rare and expensive commodity called white gold, used as a bargaining chip because it was the only way to preserve food.

Every year in September you can attend the historical re-enactment of the Armesa de Sel (Salt shed), which concluded the collection of salt, which wa

s transported by flat-bottomed boats to special warehouses, which were located along the Port Channel of Cervia which guaranteed its conservation.
 
Giving salt is considered a good luck gesture, so during this re-enactment, a boat glides slowly along the canal with a load of 100 quintals to give to visitors along the banks.
 

 
For a correct diet and to best enhance the taste of dishes, the sweet salt of Cervia is also used in the kitchen of our IL GUSTO restaurant.

As a unique experience we propose you to visit the salt pans of Cervia

The Center offers various activities, you can choose: the Walk in the Salina, with the guide to discover the naturalistic treasures of the area and the excursion in the salt pan by electric boat, available from June to

September, last about a couple of hours and the reservation is compulsory.
 

“There must be something sacred in the salt… we find it in our tears and in the sea. "
Kahlil Gibran