The Saline integral natural reserve of Trapani and Paceco is a regional natural reserve of Sicily that extends into the sea for 986 hectares in the territory of the municipalities of Trapani and Paceco; it is an important wetland that offers shelter to numerous species of migratory birds.

The exploitation of the coastal area between Trapani and Marsala dates back to the time of the Phoenicians who planted tanks to obtain salt, then exported throughout the Mediterranean.

Frederick II quotes the saltworks in the Constitutions of Melfi.

Nowadays salt still continues to be extracted, even with changed methods: the mills, characteristic of the landscape, are no longer used.

Here the structures created centuries ago for the processing of salt have merged harmoniously with the natural landscape to give life to a unique and suggestive environment.

In a 300-year-old salary house, a small museum was set up illustrating the phases of salt processing and some tools used for extraction and harvesting.

A mill of sixteenth-century origins survives today only thanks to the love of its owners (Ettore and Infersa saline) that have put it back into operation to allow who have never seen one to enjoy the charm of the work of the past.

At the Maria Stella Mill, on the provincial road no.

21 Trapani-Marsala, in the hamlet of Nubia, a visitor reception center is open, open every summer except Sunday, where information on the Reserve is available.

It is possible to book guided tours.

Contacts and Hours: open to the public for guided tours all year, by reservation, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Entrance Oasis: Provincial Road 21 Trapani-Marsala, Maria Stella Mill Visitor Center, Nubia-Paceco (Tp) Telephone 0923/867700

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