Torrevieja seeks new craftspeople to keep its traditional salt ships alive

Torrevieja is actively seeking new artisans to preserve the unique craft of creating its traditional salt ships, a delicate heritage deeply tied to the coastal city’s history. A municipal school in Torrevieja is working against time to ensure this one-of-a-kind art form does not vanish, as the intricate model vessels are awarded annually at the city’s International Habaneras and Polyphony Contest and presented as institutional gifts to visiting dignitaries.

Unlike habanera songs, which can be performed anywhere in the world, Torrevieja’s salt ships can only be produced locally. The miniature vessels are encrusted with salt crystals that form naturally inside Torrevieja’s famous Laguna Rosa. The intricate process combines the meticulous skill of human craftspeople with the precise natural conditions of the lagoon.

In past decades, access to the salt pans was unrestricted, allowing numerous salt workers to spend their spare time crafting miniature boats, with an annual salt ship competition celebrating their finest creations. However, as the older generation of artisans passed away, few newcomers stepped forward to learn the trade. Today, access to the lagoon is managed by the salt production company, and only two veteran craftsmen remain in the trade: Manuel Sala Campos, known as ‘Pijote’, who is around eighty years old and wishing to retire, and Miguel Pérez Muñoz, known as ‘el Gavilán’, who remains passionate but weary.

To prevent the tradition from dying out, the local council, through the Joaquín Chapaprieta Municipal Institute of Culture, established a dedicated craft school five years ago. Led by director and master craftsman Vicente Martínez, who acts as teacher and archivist for the trade, the school has grown from a dozen initial students to more than forty enrolled today.

The profile of the current student body offers an interesting twist for the future of the craft. Around 95 per cent of the enrolled students are women, meaning the next generation of master salt ship artisans in Torrevieja will almost certainly be female. The school is open to everyone regardless of background or residency status, attracting local residents as well as foreign attendees, including a French resident and an Indian-origin neighbour. Younger generations are also beginning to show interest, including a sixth-grade Russian student with a passion for creative handiwork.

Inside the workshop, students build historically accurate models inspired by archive photographs of Torrevieja’s maritime past, when the city possessed one of the largest sailing fleets in the Mediterranean. Crafting a salt ship begins by constructing a wooden keel and forming the curved hull using flexible plastic strips—traditionally used in lingerie—which have replaced esparto grass, as harvesting esparto is now prohibited. The details are added using wooden toothpicks, and the entire framework is wrapped in cotton fabric, which allows the salt to adhere. A strict rule governs the construction: no metal can be used under any circumstances, as salt rapidly corrodes and rusts it.

Once the framework is assembled, nature takes over. The models are submerged in the Laguna Rosa, where the crystallisation process requires a salt concentration of around 270 grams per litre, warm temperatures, and a steady easterly ‘levante’ wind. The wind agitates the water, suspending salt particles that deposit onto the cotton fabric in neat, interlocking cubes. If the wind dies down overnight, the salt forms sharp, irregular spikes, requiring the piece to be laboriously brushed or rinsed with fresh water to start again.

The ideal window for crystallising the ships occurs during May and June. In July, rising temperatures accelerate evaporation, making the salt too harsh for proper formation. Weather conditions over the past two years have proven difficult, forcing artisans to rinse previously constructed ships in fresh water and resubmerge them to achieve the proper finish. The entire process, from constructing the wooden frame to final crystallisation, takes roughly two months.

Beyond traditional sailing ships, the school’s workshop produces replicas of local landmarks, such as the historic Chapina stage and the former Tintero bar structure on Cura beach, as well as marine wildlife including the loggerhead sea turtle. Custom commissions include a model of the tower of Torre de la Horadada for the neighbouring municipality, decorative salt crowns, and personalized name displays. The city eventually hopes to display these crafted pieces in a future municipal museum to ensure Torrevieja’s maritime heritage remains protected for generations to come.