Marsala stands on the headland of Capo Boeo at the extreme tip of Sicily, 30 km to the south of Trapani, with
14 kilometres of Blue Flag beaches laid out at its feet, looking out towards the Egadi islands (Favignana,
Levanzo and Marittimo) and Tunisia.
Founded in 397 BC by the Phoeniceans who had escaped from Motya after the defeat inflicted by the Syracusans,
it was inhabited by the Romans, by the Arabs (to whom it owes its name
Marsah el Alì or Marsa Allah,
port of Allah), by the Normans and by the Spanish. Since 1773 the economic interests of the city have
revolved around wine production and the most ancient DOC in Italy - Marsala - introduced by John Woodhouse,
followed by the Inghams and the Florio family. It is possible to visit the Florio factory and the Wine Road
with the Bagli (characteristic rural constructions built in the eighteenth century precisely for the processing
and storage of the wine).
In addition to the renovated old city centre (the Convento del Carmine,
the "royal" Teatro Eliodoro Sollima, Piazza Loggia
with the Cathedral and
Palazzo VII Aprile, and the museum with its fine Flemish tapestries),
in Marsala visitors can also admire the Archaeological Park of Capo Boeo,
with the Callipige Venus and the Punic Ship,
the mosaics of the Insula romana, the grotto of the
Sibyl of Lilybaeum and the Baptistery
of San Giovanni.
The Via del Sale, with its salt marshes and windmills, boasts fine views of the unspoilt landscape of the
Stagnone lagoon.
At the end of May the Garibaldi celebrations are held in Marsala,
since it was here that Garibaldi landed
with his "thousand" volunteers on 11 May 1860 to launch the unification of Italy. Other important folklore
and cultural events include the Feast of the patron Madonna della Cava,
the Feast of Saint Joseph, the
Feast of Saint John, the Marsala Doc
Jazz Festival, the international fair of sweet, passito and liqueur wines
"Vinoro", and the rich calendar of events of the
"Estate Insieme" festival.
