Today renamed Vieux Salins, the Salins de Saint-Nicolas in Hyères were operated as a quasi-monopoly by the Italian city of Genoa during the Middle Ages. These salt marshes on the Var coast experienced their golden age in the 13th century. After having supplied the cities of the Italian coast from Nice to Pisa for more than two centuries, they gradually lost their importance under the combined effects of competition from foreign and Camargue salt production sites.