The ancient SALTGARDEN ”CAMILLONE” of CERVIA
The last salt garden in Europe where the salt is still collected by hand with traditional system and tools of pine-wood.
The cultural Association of Civilization Salters of Cervia is prouds and happy to continue 1000
year old tradition of salt harvesting as vocally passedon by our parents.
Already as children we played in the saltgarden and learned the use of the antique wooden tools.
Cervia lies on an Etruscan population area, most likely even then, the salt was harvested in these
natural lagoons. Later the Greek came and named the area Ficocle, which means”seaweed lagoon”.
During the Roman Empire, Cervia was one of the important cities on the Adriatic Coast.
Wood tools are from Roman times, as for examples:
Rësta : from latin:”restis”Rope used to drow wherrys loaded of salt to the storehouse.
Rabiël : from venetian:”rabio“ Rake of wood without prongs.
Stura : late latin:”storea” Weave of grass marshy like a straw mat
Zôran : high italic:”gottazza“ Bailer to throwing low water to deep level,
Cótg : latin:”cotex”:heavy roller of pine-wood to level grounds also clayey
Tómba : latin:”tumba”:open space where to piling up the salt crop
Ghêvar: celtic-latin:”gàbalus”:Tool of wood for assembling salt with shaft
as a fork until 4 m long
Zèman : latin: ”geminae”:little drain in the middle of saltgarden for waste-water.
Şmövar: latin:”exmovëre”:Move and remove the plaster from crystallization of salt on surface.
Nowadays, members of the Association, are proud to work in this activity part of free time,
in the salt garden ”Camillone”; there are about 18 Volonteers at work all the time.
It’s hard work collecting salt, allways being barefoot and under the burning sun. The water starts to be moved around in March already. During the winter time, the salt pit is constantly covered by 1,5 m. of salt water in order to keep the ground warmer and to avoid weed growing.
The water runs slowly between the basins until the salt garden appears.
In the meantime the mud is moved upwards at the borders of the basin to enable it to hold
more water and allow us to walk on the dried mud during the season between June to August.
During that time evaporated salt water reaches a salt density of 18°”Beaumé”.
Mid May, depending on the weather, all salt basins, called ”cavedini”, are cleaned by scraping
the ground with a tool called ”gavaro”.
After a couple of days under the sun, the ground dries up and the whole surface looks gray
and shows cracks.
That is the critical moment to move the surface of the basin in orden to smoothen it again by
closing the cracks.
In the meantime, the salt water has increased from ”servidori” to ”Beaumé” salt grade of 20/22°
and is added to the salt basins at the hight of 2 cm.water depth to allow the sun to warm the
surface quickly. This encourages the final water thinning to a 24° salt grade”Beaumé”.
Then at 25° the salt crystals start to form with all the minerals originally contained in the water.
Day after day this salt crystallization is interrupted by moving the water with the wooden tool called ”gavaro”. This final work process lasts 5 days, by then the salt is ready to be harvested and can be taken out of the water. With the wooden wheel barrel ”carriolo” the salt is transported to a spot where over the next 3 months the sun will dry and sterilize the salt.
This is the only and oldest salt production in Europe in which the salt is collected exclusively for
cultural and touristic purpose. The weather is key for the harvest, the more the sun shines, the
more salt will crystallize.In case of too much rain, the already crystallized salt will melt again.
Sweet water ruins the basin by mixing mud and salt.
Now the salt needs to be scraped again from the ground in order to obtain again a clean basin.
This salt water is now no longer good for crystallization and it takes some days to see the salt
appear again at the surface. This process is always repeated, depending on the weather condition.
Five days after the salt crystallized on the salt-pans are suitable to be picked, this type of
procedure come and named ”to picke multiple” or system of Cervia.
The salt-harvest picked up from salt-pans, allways with tools on pine-wood, named big shovels (”paloncelli”), baskets (”paniere”), and wheelbarrows (”carrioli”);these last are to be needed
like means of transportation on the salt-mine untill to open space: named (”tomba”).
The salt here lies for all the saison of salt gettings dry and sterilizing it’s under the rays ultra-violets.
Like hade allready spoken about the ”Camillone” it’s unique still extant with this system
of production of salt in Europe and represent too an a great touristic attraction and only extant.
For the reason given above Cervia to get rich more and more for cultural weight.
The production of salt depend exclusively on Weather conditions, the more the Sun will be
shine the more will be the tonnage of the salt.
If unfortunately shoud be rain, the salt lying on the salt-pans melt on contact of the rain
water, to get dirty to such point to must it scrape from bottom and throw one’s to start
again like at the month of may to restore the bottoms of the salt-pans and return it fit after
some days to the crystallization.
Following shorts historical information about the salt garden of Cervia
The salt gardens exist since the etruscan area, 2000 years ago. Afterwards they were taken over
by the Greeks, Venetians, Romans, Malatesta, Church State, Napoleon and last but not least
by the Italian Governement since 1860.
Once at this time the salt was definited ”the golden white” (L’oro bianco) so much was precious.
The salt garden of Cervia coming up in the middle Ages, after numberless Fights and warfare, controlled also from Malatestian, getting imposing benefits. The State of Church and the Popes fed a fundamental develop of the salt production considering the weight of the same and the same Innocent XII° having to heart the people of old Cervia, living in middle of salt garden, that to be about to die out, to take care that in a Year 1697, began to build up new Cervia dismantling the inhabited in the salt-mine.
Napoleon occupaying Italy put an end to the control the State of Church and after many periods of transition, until 1860, with the foundation of the Italian State, the salt garden passed under a Monopoly system.
Inhabitants of Ficocle : ( from Greek “Alge Lagoon”) direktly at the salt garden in Cervia vecchia
up till 1696 – 2,5 km. to the Sea; and had over a thousands of souls. Finally she did dismantled in a year 1697 builded up the present Cervia near the Sea, with a population approximatley over 3000 people, Cervia Year 2000 approx. 30000 inhabitans. Perimeter of salt garden 14,2 km. with a surface of 827 hektares, still today 70 cm. below Sea level. The salt garden infact lies 60 cm. lower
from the basin corners in orden to enable the necessary water movements.
Salt garden Year 1958: n°152 – then was be trasformed into industry system. “Camillone” first name given.
Camillone : alltough beeing the smallest saltplan, it produces with 47 saltbasins (12m.x 3m.)
aproximately 1800 ql. salt yearly ( depending on Weather ).
Salt producers: 152 Saltproducers until 1958. Yearly paid of 200 workingsdays from the governement plus production premium; With this piece-work they are obliged to pay the tools and the seasonal workers (about 350 of whom 75% women and 25% men) for the salt-harvest - quarrymans (”cavatori”). All the production of the salt garden Cervia ,(dependings on Weather), about 350000 ql. expected Yearly. The salt produced and harvest at the salt garden of Cervia is pure raw salt of finest quality. That meanes, the production is based on a physical and mechanical process: sorting or purification through highly concentrated salt water, reduction up to humidity of 2%. The quality of the Ocean salt is preserved in this process, without any additives or binding agents.(named – ”sweet salt ”(sale dolce) , A analyses of the produced salt on national level, has
proven the present of elements of 98% Sodiumchloride, 1% organoleptic and 1% chemical nature. The result confirm that the salt from Cervia is of best quality.
Elvino Bertozzi
*** Con i complimenti dell’Enoteca del Faggio – Bottega del gusto e dei sapori ***
V.le Roma 106 – 48015 Cervia (Ra)
Tel. 0544 972445 – gpfaggio@libero.it
