Salt panning
For centuries, the salt pans in the northern Adriatic Sea area long had a significant impact on the economy of the countries and city-states in this area. They were the subject of political disputes and wars as salt was considered a precious raw material and strategic merchandise due to its usefulness, and was important for the preservation of food and the production of gunpowder. In the past, there were a number of smaller and larger salt pans in the Gulf of Trieste and Istria (e.g. in Milje, Koper, Izola, Lucija), however, today only the Sečovlje and Strunjan salt pans remain. They were not only characterized by political and economic interests, but also by the whims of nature which sometimes made salt production impossible for longer periods, however, sometimes it offered an over-abundance.
In the abundance of different kinds of high-quality salts, Piran salt is one of the most prominent as it is cultivated according to the method of more than 700 years ago. The Sečovlje salt pans are the northernmost still functioning salt pans in the Mediterranean area and one of the few salt pans in the world where salt is produced after several centuries-old processes originating from at least the 14th century. Their speciality is that the salt pan workers cultivate petola at the bottom of the crystallization ponds. This is a biosediment which prevents the sea mud merging with the salt and gives the salt numerous microelements and minerals necessary for the human organism. It is cultivated completely through natural crystallization using their bare hands, and the tools and procedures of their ancestors.
Salt panning distinctively shaped the cultural landscape, i.e. areas that are the work of human hands.
Where salt becomes touch
3. 4. 2026
Thalasso Spa Lepa Vida is set in the heart of the Sečovlje Salt Pans.
Here, salt, brine and salt pan mud are not merely ingredients, but part of an environment that shapes the experience of care.
Here, salt, brine and salt pan mud are not merely ingredients, but part of an environment that shapes the experience of care.
Where the salt pans meet care
When you step into Thalasso Spa Lepa Vida, you are not simply entering a place of relaxation, but a continuation of a story that begins in the Sečovlje Salina Nature Park.
The salt pans are not a backdrop. They are the source.
This is where salt is formed. Brine and salt pan mud are part of the environment in which salt matures and develops its character. It is from this very environment that the materials we use in our treatments are drawn.
The salt pans are not a backdrop. They are the source.
This is where salt is formed. Brine and salt pan mud are part of the environment in which salt matures and develops its character. It is from this very environment that the materials we use in our treatments are drawn.
On the floor of the salt pans, through the care of the salt workers, a unique living layer known as petola is formed — a natural foundation that gives Piran salt its distinctive quality.
If you would like to better understand what gives this salt its unique character, you can read more in the full story of Piran salt.
What is formed in the salt pans is felt here on the skin.
These are elements Lepa Vida understands — not as ingredients, but as part of the environment from which they arise.
When used in care, they do not act in isolation, but within the logic of the place they come from.
When used in care, they do not act in isolation, but within the logic of the place they come from.
Salt prepares the skin,
brine soothes it,
mud works deeper.
Simple. Natural. Just as it is formed.
Knowledge passed on
Lepa Vida is not just a place. It is a way of working. A way of understanding how to work with what the salt pans offer — and how to translate it into a gentle touch.
Therapists at Thalasso Spa Lepa Vida work within this knowledge — they adopt it, deepen it, and carry it forward. This is why our treatments are not merely a sequence of steps, but a way in which the body gradually opens, relaxes, and returns to balance.
You can explore more about our treatments and programmes here.
A rhythm that remains
The salt pans teach one thing: nothing is created by force. This is how we work, too. We do not rush. We do not push. And it is precisely there — where the body lets go — that true care begins. This is one of our guiding principles.
In summer, the salt pans move in their full rhythm. This is the time when they can be experienced in a different way — not only as a place where salt is formed, but also as a space of relaxation, where the story continues.
In summer, the salt pans move in their full rhythm. This is the time when they can be experienced in a different way — not only as a place where salt is formed, but also as a space of relaxation, where the story continues.
Towards the end of May,
Thalasso Spa Lepa Vida returns to this rhythm.
A place where the salt pans become an experience — and where the body feels what nature has been shaping for centuries.
About
SOLINE Pridelava soli d.o.o.
Seča 115, 6320 Portorož, Slovenija, EU
VAT Reg. No.: SI 61597856
Registration number: 1365495
Current account: 10100-0032654851
Registration at the District Court in Koper,
Reg. No. 1/05615/00.
Seča 115, 6320 Portorož, Slovenija, EU
VAT Reg. No.: SI 61597856
Registration number: 1365495
Current account: 10100-0032654851
Registration at the District Court in Koper,
Reg. No. 1/05615/00.