The Salt Roads

Those staying at Casallario who look out toward one of its more open slopes will notice, on the horizon, long white lines winding through the hills. At first glance, they might seem like motocross tracks or mysterious trails carved into the earth. In reality, they are the visible trace of an activity that has shaped—and continues to profoundly shape—our land: salt extraction.

Those pale marks gleaming under the sun are the result of the constant passage of trucks transporting raw salt from underground to the processing plants. A process which, though entirely artificial and industrial, has gradually turned into a kind of alien landscape—almost dystopian—that intrigues and questions those who gaze upon it.

Salt, in Saline di Volterra, is both resource and contradiction: an economic engine for generations, but also the cause of a gradual hollowing of the subsoil, due to increasingly intensive and widespread extractions carried out by companies both large and small, well-known and less so. The result is a scenario suspended between fascination and unease, where the power of industry coexists with the unintended aesthetics of a transformed landscape.

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As you approach Saline di Volterra—just 8 km from our agriturismo and easily reachable even on foot—the landscape changes in a surprising way. Among country roads and cultivated fields, you begin to notice processing stations, pipelines, chimneys, and conveyor belts: fascinating structures in their industrial simplicity, emerging like relics of a hardworking modernity, suspended between past and present.

It is not uncommon for travelers and curious visitors to stop and admire this unusual scenery, which tells the story of an authentic industrial heritage—far from classic tourist routes yet deeply tied to the identity of the Valdicecina.

Those wishing to learn more can stop at Azienda Locatelli, one of the historic centers of salt extraction in the area. Here, you’ll find the purest salt in Italy, available for purchase directly at the on-site shop. Even more importantly, visitors can explore a well-curated museum route that tells the story of salt, the extraction techniques, and the crucial role this resource has played for Volterra and its surroundings over the centuries.

One of the most striking moments of the visit is the so-called “salt waterfall”, a true natural installation: inside a warehouse, raw salt falls from above, forming a spectacular white dune where children can climb and slide—turning the visit into an experience that is not only educational, but also fun and highly photogenic.