A windmill on the salt flats of Marsala, Sicily
Tag: mulino
Sicily’s Salt Pans
The saltworks or “Le Saline” of Trapani and Marsala have been exploited since Phoenician times (c. 800 BC). The shallow salty waters, high temperatures, and arid winds make for excellent conditions for harvesting salt from the sea. For centuries, windmills mechanized the process of cultivating and processing the salt that is exported to kitchens throughout…
Inhale the Sunset
The Maria Stella windmill on the Trapani salt flats stands as a proud beauty, with the sun setting on her face. Over the past few days, I’ve been working on an itinerary for July 2017 for an independent client, and one evening, the plan is to dine right on the salt flats as the sun…
Salt in the Wind(mill)
This is the Maria Stella windmill on the Trapani salt flats. It is one of many windmills along Sicily’s west coast whose movement, generated by the force of the wind, powered a mechanism known as an Archimedean spiral (aka, screw conveyors or auger), that moved seawater from one salt flat to another in order to…
Happy Spring
Happy Spring! The windmill in the background is the home of the Museum of Salt in Trapani, Sicily (and a trattoria!).
Our May Tour, Day 2: Capture the Wind
Along Sicily’s west coast from Trapani in the north through Marsala in the south, harvesting salt has been a leading industry since Phonetician times (that is, from around the 8th century BC). Windmills, like the one pictured, although no longer used to grind the harvested salt, still dot the picturesque coastline. During the afternoon of…
In the Mountains with Melissa Muller
The mountains of Sicily are extraordinary. The sea often takes center stage, but once you’ve spent time in the heart of Sicily, you’ll become a confused lover–mountains or sea? Sea or mountains? Today, Melissa Muller with whom we are hosting our May 19-31, 2016 tour, “Experience Sicily with Chef Melissa Muller,” and I spent a…
Salt Grinder
This is the Maria Stella windmill from the Trapani salt pans. It is one of many windmills whose movement worked a mechanism that ground salt that had been collected from the flats when the sea water held in the flats evaporated. In the past, when this windmill was in use, its large wooded blades were…
Fill My Heart with Wind
This afternoon, on our way back from the ancient Phoenician outpost of Mozia, the salt flats of Marsala and their antique windmills romanced us. See the white mounds on the right? That is sea salt drying before being exported to kitchens around the world.
Le Saline or Saltworks of Trapani and Marsala
The saltworks or “Le Saline” of Trapani and Marsala have been exploited since Phoenician times (c. 800 BC). The shallow salty waters, high temperatures, and arid winds make for excellent conditions for harvesting salt from the sea. For centuries, windmills mechanized the process of cultivating and processing the salt that is exported to kitchens throughout…