The saltworks pond is a wetland located in an area near the town of Carloforte, on the isola di San Pietro.
The saltworks’ activity dates back to the second half of the 1700s and has always been a part of community life on the island.
The salt deposition basins were operational up until the middle of the last century. Nowadays, they are an open-air museum from a number of different points of view, archaeological-industrial and naturalistic.
From a nature point of view, this is an extremely important wetland where it is possible to observe a large number of migratory and non-migratory bird species. Some of the most important ones include the pink flamingo, the grey heron, the common sandpiper, the common kingfisher, the little egret, the black-winged stilts, the shelduck, the Avocet, the redshank, the spotted redshank, the pantana and the great egret.
A pathway runs round the pond known as Via del Sale which allows you to observe poultry species without disturbing them.
The saltworks area is protected under the “Habitat” directive no. 92/43/EEC, approved in 1992 by the European commission.
This wetland, like the rest of the island, is part of the Sites of Community Interest (SCI) “Isola di San Pietro” (ITB040027), regulated by the Rete Natura 2000 with a view to protecting its biodiversity, and to preserve the natural habitats, flora and wild fauna found there.
