'He taught us to love this place, this work' - Gozo mourns iconic Leli tal-Melħ

Updated 5.36pm

Gozo is mourning the death of Emanuel Cini, known as Leli tal-Melħ, who devoted his life to preserving his family’s generations-old salt-harvesting tradition.

He was 83 years old.

Cini, who died on Wednesday, spent more than 50 years tending 350 salt pans along the Xwejni coastline with his wife Rose, continuing a legacy dating back to 1860. The labour-intensive work is now carried on by his daughter Josephine and her husband David.

The family’s mineral-rich salt has gained popularity beyond Malta’s shores, drawing tourists and foreign journalists to the Xwejni pans, where Cini was often seen selling the product from a roadside stall.

He was introduced to the trade by his wife, whose family owned the pans. He revived the salt trade after they got married in 1969. In recent years, he would often lead educational tours for school children, teaching them about the salt harvesting business. 

The Cini family are part of a small handful of salt harvesters who still operate pans in Gozo and Malta.

His death was announced by the family on their Facebook page on Thursday. He died “peacefully surrounded by his family” at Gozo General Hospital.

Speaking to Times of Malta on Thursday, Cini's daughter Josephine Xuereb remembered him as "very witty, very wise and a great observer". 

"He had a beautiful life. He was very happy to see us continue the salt harvesting tradition. He appreciated that people would come to seek him out, to talk to him and listen to his stories," she said.

"It was a hard life. This work is very labour intensive. My parents worked intensively for many years in a place that, until recently, was very remote. But with their authenticity, their humility, their simple life, by working together they spread Gozitan salt across the four winds of the Earth. And with their sympathy they attracted the love from all over the world."

Xuereb added that her father was most concerned with ensuring that Xwejni is safeguarded for future generations. "He would get very upset about the environment. If he and my mother hadn't taken care of this place, and they hadn't taught us to look after it, the place would have been dead by now. He taught us to acknowledge salt as a natural resource."

"He used to tell me where there is water, there is life," she continued.

While he had not been active on the salt pans for the past 10 years due to his ailing health, Cini remained a mentor to his children, offering advice and expertise to anyone who sought information about how salt is made.

"I miss him. He was our guide. He used to observe us and give us advice. His professionalism came through his hard work and experience," his daughter said.

"He didn't go to university, but he would engage in discussions with anyone, have long conversations with students, and speak from the heart about the product."

Leli tal-Melħ, as a brand and as a tradition, does not end here. Visitors to the 'cave' which is now the shop already see his photos. But, beyond the brand, the family hope the salt-harvesting tradition that Leli cultivated so carefully with his wife will live on for generations to come.

"He taught us to love this place, and to love this work, and that will be inherited for sure," Xuereb said.

"Leli tal-Melħ deserves to live on. When they took it over in 1969, salt-harvesting was dying out. He realised it was food, that salt was always needed, that this 'white gold' would never die out. He loved the work so much and he grew it so much that he taught us to appreciate it. He started slowly and always did his best in his own way."

The secretary general of the Gozo NGOs, Raymond C Xerri, paid tribute to Cini as a "great man" who passed on his knowledge of this "priceless" heritage of salt harvesting. 

"Thank you Leli and his dedicated family," he wrote on Facebook.

Cini is survived by his wife Rose, his daughter Josephine and her husband David, his son Raymond and his wife Maria, and four grandchildren.

His funeral will be held on Monday, March 23, at Żebbuġ parish church in Gozo.