Sardinia’s oldest saltworks extends across 2,700 hectares of the Santa Gilla wetland. A huge naturalistic area and an industrial archaeological site inside a still operative plant, they describe the salt industry with period displays, immersive experiences and an itinerary through natural basins, salt mountains and wild fauna.
It was the engineer, Conti Vecchi, at the end of the 1920s, who achieved the ambitious project of reclaiming the wetland, establishing a huge saltwork there and contributing to the economic and social development of this rundown area on the outskirts of the city.
A thriving, expert and state-of-the-art business was established. An eco-sustainable and self-sufficient production plant around which a ‘salt community’ rotated complete with houses, schools and recreational buildings for the families of the owners, managers and workers who lived in the village of Macchiareddu.
Since 2017, the FAI has been involved in enhancing this cultural and landscape heritage.
The itinerary includes a visit to the historical Managerial department, Offices and Chemical laboratory restored to their original status as they were in the 1930s. A step back in time accompanied by remarkable and evocative video screenings in the Workshop and former-Joinery, dedicated to the running of the Saline. Lastly, you can climb on board a train convoy, covering an itinerary which winds through the salt basins and pure white salt mountains, immersed in an unusual and memorable scenario home to hundreds of pink flamingos.
