Marsala

Marsala
Comune
City of Marsala

Salt evaporation ponds at Marsala

Coat of arms
Marsala

Location of Marsala in Italy

Coordinates: 37°48′N 12°26′E / 37.800°N 12.433°E / 37.800; 12.433
Country Italy
Region Sicily
Province / Metropolitan city Trapani (TP)
Government
 • Mayor Alberto Di Girolamo (PD)
Area
 • Total 241.6 km2 (93.3 sq mi)
Elevation 3 m (10 ft)
Population (30 November 2010)
 • Total 82,765
 • Density 340/km2 (890/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Marsalesi or Lilibetani
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 91025
Dialing code 0923
Patron saint Our Lady of the Cave (Madonna della Cava) and Saint John the Baptist
Saint day respectively 19 January and 24 June
Website Official website

Marsala (Maissala in Sicilian; Lilybaeum in Latin) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in Trapani District and the fifth in Sicily.

The town is famous for the docking of Garibaldi on 11 May 1860 (the Expedition of the Thousand) and for its Marsala wine. A feature of the area is the Natural Reserve called Stagnone Lagoon — a marine area with salt ponds.

Marsala is built on the ruins of the ancient Carthaginian city of Lilybaion, and includes in its territory the archaeological site of Motya island, an ancient Phoenician town.

Geography

Situated at the extreme western point of Sicily, the town was founded on Lilibeo Cape from where the Aegadian Islands and the Stagnone Lagoon can be seen.

Territory

The territory of Marsala, 241 square kilometres (93 sq mi), has a rich cultural and landscape heritage; its area includes the Stagnone Lagoon, a Natural Reserve in which is located the island of Mozia.

The city of Marsala had a population of about 86,000 until the end of 1970, when Petrosino, a village formerly part of Marsala, decided to become a self-governing town after a local referendum.

The area of Marsala is classified as a seismic zone 2 (medium). In the last 200 years three earthquakes of medium-high intensity were recorded:

Weather

The weather is warm in summer with a maximum of 39 °C (102 °F). Winters are rainy with temperatures between 10 °C (50 °F) and 17 °C (63 °F).

History

In 397 BCE the Phoenician colony of Motya on the southwestern coast of Sicily was invaded and destroyed by the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius I. The survivors founded a town on the mainland nearby that they called Lilybaion (Lilybaeum in Latin), "The town that looks at Libya", on the site of modern-day Marsala.

The First Punic War began here when the Punic army landed at Lilybaion in 265/264 BCE, then marched across Sicily to Messina, where the opening clash of the war took place.[1]

Route taken by Punic army in order to reach Messana.

The Punic fortress Lilybaion was never conquered although it was besieged several times, e.g. by Pyrrhus of Epirus and by the Romans. In 241 BCE it was given to the Romans as part of the peace treaty ending the First Punic War and became one of the most important towns in Sicily. The commercial centre was enriched with mansions and public buildings and dubbed splendidissima urbs by Cicero, who served as quaestor in the region between 76 and 75 BC.

Ravaged by Vandals during the 5th century CE, the town was annexed in the 6th century to Justinian's Byzantine Empire. In this period the town was struck by dysentery, raided by pirates, and neglected by Constantinople. The arrival of Arabic Berbers at the nearby Granitola mount in the 8th century entailed the resumption of commerce and the start of the rebirth of the town. The town was renamed Marsa ʿAlī "ʿAlī's harbour" or maybe, Marsa ʿāliyy, "Big harbour", for the width of the ancient harbour, placed near Punta d'Alga. Another possible derivation is Marsa Allāh, "God's harbour". Another theory is that Marsala comes from mare salis, "salt pans by the sea" from the presence of salt pans along the whole northern coast, although mention of this theory cannot be found in contemporary references and the installation of the bigger salt ponds on the group of islands composing the contemporary single island "Isola Lunga" was made just during the 19th century.

Since the end of the 11th century, the area has been conquered by Swedish, Norman, Angevin and Aragonese troops. During this time, Marsala became wealthy, primarily through trade. However the blocking up of the harbour of Punta Alga, decreed by Emperor Charles V so as to stop Saracen forays, brought an end to this period of prosperity.

The development of Marsala wine at the end of the 18th century, headed by English merchants settled in Sicily, considerably improved local trade. This triggered an economic expansion in Marsala, including the funding of infrastructure projects such as the current harbour of Margitello.

On 11 May 1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi landed at Marsala, beginning the process of Italian unification.

On 11 May 1943, in the lead-up to the World War II Allied invasion of Sicily, an Allied bombardment of the town permanently damaged its Baroque centre and claimed many victims: "Marsala Wiped Off the Map" titled the New York Times on 13 May 1943.[2]

Notable people

Monuments and interesting places

Religious architecture

Civil architecture

Military architecture

Other

Enological establishments

Large-scale wine production started in 1773, encouraged by English trader John Woodhouse. Important winemaking establishments include Ingham-Whitaker, le Cantine Florio, Martinez, Pellegrino, Rallo, Mineo, Bianchi, Baglio Hopps, Donnafugata, Alagna, Caruso e Minini. Marsala cellars are famous not just for the production of dessert wine, but also for red and white wines. They produce modern cellar wine, such as Alcesti, De Bartoli, Fina, Vinci, Birgi, Mothia, Paolini e Baglio Oro.

References

  1. ↑ Diodorus Siculus, Biblioteca Historica, 23.1.2
  2. ↑ The New York Times, New York, Thursday, 13 May 1943
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