Riserva naturale orientata Saline di Trapani e Paceco is an Italian nature reserve in the

Province of Trapani Trapani ( it, Provincia di Trapani, scn, Pruvincia di Tràpani; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it ...

between the municipalities of

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

and

Paceco Paceco ( Sicilian: ''Paceca'') is a town and ''comune'' in Western Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani, located nearby the Trapani city area, a distance of . Paceco is a small rural centre: among its agricultural pr ...

on the west coast of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. It was founded in 1995 and in the framework of the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

entrusted to WWF Italy. Its area of consists of two zones (Zona A and Zona B). Besides

Mediterranean flora Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub is a biome defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The biome is generally characterized by dry summers and rainy winters, although in some areas rainfall may be uniform. Summers are typically hot in ...

and fauna, there is a saline work museum in an old salt mill.

Flora and fauna

The nature reserve is the habitat of many endemic plant species. The

halophyte A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs and seashores. Th ...

flora which is adaptable to the

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is domin ...

es and the soils with high salt concentrations is represented by some of the rarest plants of Sicily, like the sea marigold (''Calendula maritima''), ''

Limoniastrum monopetalum ''Limoniastrum monopetalum'' ('grand statice'), is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae that is native to between Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia. It has been found in salt marshes, dunes and other coastal areas with ...

'', ''

Cynomorium coccineum ''Cynomorium'' is a genus of parasitic perennial flowering plants in the family Cynomoriaceae. The genus consists of only one species, ''Cynomorium coccineum'' (although one of its subspecies is sometimes treated as a separate species). Its plac ...

'' or '' Limonium densiflorum''. Rare animals are the

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

(''Pandion haliaetus''), the peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), the common painted frog (''Discoglossus pictus''), as well as the insect species ''Bucherillo littoralis'', ''Stenoniscus carinatus'', ''Pterolepis elymica'', ''Cicindela circumdata imperialis'', ''Cicindela littorea goudati'', ''Teia dubia'' and ''Aphanius fasciatus''. The salt works are an important stopover for many European migratory birds before they fly across the Strait of Sicily to Africa. 170 bird species have been counted here.

Salt Museum

Located in an old mill, the Salt Museum is a private structure with tools and an exhibition of the traditional activity of the artisanal production of salt. Nearby is the "Salina Culcasi", with Torre di Nubia ( ), part of the ancient ''Torri costiere della Sicilia'' system to prevent the theft of salt by Barbary pirates from

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

. File:Trapani.jpg, Torre Nubia near Salina Culcasi of Paceco (Trapani) File:Nubia - La torre dall'arco del museo.JPG, Torre Nubia, view from arc of museum File:Macina al mulino delle saline.jpg, Ancient stone millstone File:Museo della salina - macina.jpg, Ancient stone millstone (other side) File:MUSEO del Sale di Trapani e Paceco Spira di Archimede fronte.jpg, Old Archimedes' screw (front) File:MUSEO del Sale di Trapani e Paceco Spira di Archimede.jpg, Old Archimedes' screw File:MUSEO del Sale di Trapani e Paceco Assed e ruota trasmissione albero.jpg, Shaft transmission wheel File:Museo del Sale - panoramio.jpg, Shaft transmission wheel (in its working position) File:Im Mühlenmuseum Trapani.jpg, Shaft transmission wheel (in its working position) File:MUSEO del Sale di Trapani e Paceco Carro dell'acqua.jpg, Water car (''Carro dell'acqua'') File:Carro botta - panoramio.jpg, Water car (''Carro dell'acqua'') File:Saline di Trapani 0022.JPG, "American" water lifting mill

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riserva Naturale Integrale Saline Di Trapani E Paceco Nature reserves in Italy Trapani Geography of Sicily Tourist attractions in Sicily Museums in Sicily Salt museums