You’ll find out what were once the “Salt Roads”. The route named after the ancient salt merchants travelling to the town in order to buy salt – used for cooking and food preservation – obtained from the natural salsobromoiodic waters of Salsomaggiore.
Salt extraction is an ancient tradition, whose origins date to Roman times and to the Ligurian and Celtic peoples who inhabited these lands in even more distant times. The itinerary takes place between culture, nature, landscapes and identity. His name evokes an ancient document that testifies to these places and these people: a writing of 29 December 877 where the Bishop of Parma Guibodo cited the privileges received by Charlemagne, including "... salt et terra de Salsis." Following the path we go into places that still bring back to the origins of the land inhabited by the "Salsi": the thousand-year-old Castello di Scipione, the Pieve of San Nicomede, the Saline of the Farnesian era and the Pumping Power Station where, in 1900, salsobromoiodic water was extracted. Finally, we reach the path of Rio Gardello and the Museum Pole: experiences that immerse nature and the geological and palaeontological riches of a unique landscape.
From "salt village" to spa town.
The territory of Salsa is furrowed by a network of underground bromide-iodine water layers that flows at depths of between 300 and 1200 meters.
Ancient structure for salt production.
The nature and geology of the salsominore valley are well represented by the nature walk that runs along the Rio Gardello.
The Castle of Scipione of the Pallavicino Marquees is the most ancient castle of the region and the only one still inhabitated by the descendants of the Pallavicino family.
The small church of St. Nicomede, preserves almost intact the Romanesque forms of the 12th century.
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