Salt Pans Cuisine - wild herbs

On Wednesday, May 21, 2025, the first event of this year's edition of the project The Salt Pans Cuisine took place at the Museum of Salt-making at Fontanigge in the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park. The project, now in its sixth consecutive year, connects the natural and cultural heritage of the salt pans and is primarily aimed at raising awareness about the importance of preserving this unique area and its rich salt-making heritage.

The event began at the entrance to Fontanigge, where Katja Mihalič, the nature conservation warden of the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park, welcomed the participants and guided them to the museum. During the walk, visitors learned about the characteristic plant and animal species of the saltpans environment.

The event started with the opening greetings by the organisers from the Maritime Museum "Sergej Mašera" Piran, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia and the Self-Governing Community of Italian Nationality Piran with the Community of Italians "Giuseppe Tartini" Piran: Ajda Purger, Matjaž Kljun and Giorgina Rebol.

Visitors were then guided by Lea Grbec through the museum collection, participated in traditional children's and board games prepared by the ethnographic group “La Famea dei salineri,” and in a workshop on making herbal salt, led by a curator from the Maritime Museum of Piran..
The event was also accompanied by a exhibition of watercolor paintings on the theme of the salt pans, created by members of the art group from the Italian Community "Giuseppe Tartini" Piran, under the guidance of Nada Dellore.

To conclude the event, Maria Grazia Benussi presented a selection of edible wild herbs and highlighted their poisonous look-alikes.
The day ended with a pleasant gathering accompanied by refreshments, prepared by Maria Grazia Benussi and Fulvia Zudič.

The event once again emphasized how valuable the combination of cultural, natural, and culinary elements can be in raising awareness about the importance of preserving the heritage of the salt-pans.

The next meeting at the Museum of Salt-making at Fontanigge in the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park will be on 24 July 2024 at 6 pm – kindly invited!

The Salt Pans Cuisine 2025 is organised by:
the Maritime Museum "Sergej Mašera" Piran, the Self-Governing Community of Italian Nationality Piran with the Community of Italians "Giuseppe Tartini" Piran, the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia, the manager of the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park - Soline d.o.o., the Ethnographic Group “La Famea dei salineri”, the Science and Research Centre Koper, the Muzofil Association and others.

Photo and video: Omar Palakovič and Fulvia Zudič