The biggest salt-pans in Italy

In ancient times here was Lake Salpi, a coastal basin with brackish swampy waters, which gave name to the ancient Daun lagoon town of Salapia.

The inhabitants of this area soon discovered that sea-water used to to flow into the lake at high tide, leaving salt behind when it evaporated, especially in the southern part of the lake.

Already in medieval cartography was pointed out the presence of salt-pans, which ensured the "precious" mineral since the first centuries after Christ. Here in XIII century emperor Frederick II, charmed by life in the marshes, used to go hawking and to note down his ornithological observations, which have got to us in his work "De arte venandi cum avibus".

Towards the beginning of 1900 the land reclamation works, which the Borbons had already started, were completed, and the basin assumed the present look: an expanse of brackish waters, of varying depth, here and there relieved by banks and islets covered with halophilic vegetation.