(Sèl, Sweet salt of Cervia, Pope's salt, Sale dei Papi, Salt)
Emilia-Romagna has been renowned for its salt production, especially the small town of Cervia near Ravenna, often referred to as "a city of white gold," where high-quality salt has been hand-picked since the 8th century. Today, Salina Camillione is the only salt basin where hand harvesting of salt is still practiced, producing only around 5 tons of this exceptional salt a year.
In an attempt to protect this ancient tradition, the city was presented with a "Presidia" status by the Slow Food Association, which protects products on the verge of extinction.
Due to the absence of bitter minerals normally contained in sea water, such as potassium, and the purity of its sodium chloride, Cervia’s salt tastes sweeter than other sea salts, and extraction through natural evaporation and drying creates a salt that maintains its natural humidity without additives.
Their Salfiore, flower of salt, is also called sale dei Papi, meaning The Pope's salt, because since the 16th century each year's first harvest is traditionally brought as a gift to the Pope in Rome.
