On 11 May 1860 Garibaldi landed here with his Thousand, and Marsala entered the history books. It had already entered the glasses in 1773, when the Englishman John Woodhouse discovered that the local fortified wine survived sea voyages: Marsala was born, and the historic cellars — Florio above all — can still be visited.
The town stands on Cape Boeo, which is why they call it the city between two seas: the Tyrrhenian to the north, the Sea of Sicily to the south. It is also the point in Italy closest to Favignana. Beneath the houses lies Lilybaeum, the Punic base from which the inhabitants are still called lilibetani, with its archaeological park by the sea; inside the municipal territory is the island of Mozia, a Phoenician settlement within the Stagnone reserve. The salt pans with their windmills give Sicily's most photographed sunsets, with flamingos passing through.
Garibaldi and his Thousand came ashore right here on 11 May 1860, opening the campaign that would unite Italy — which is why the main street of the old town, the ancient Cassaro, is called Via XI Maggio. The city's name is Arabic: most scholars read it as Marsa Allah, "God's harbour", though some argue for Marsa 'Ali.
The wine that carries the city's name was born of practicality. In 1773 the English trader John Woodhouse shipped barrels of local wine to Liverpool, fortified with spirit so they would survive the crossing; it caught on so well that Nelson's navy put it under contract for the fleet. The name still travels: Marsala was named European Wine Capital in 2013, and in 2015 Pantone called its colour of the year "Marsala", after the brownish red in the glass.
In 1971 a Punic warship surfaced from the shallows of the Stagnone lagoon off Isola Longa, most likely sunk at the Battle of the Egadi Islands in 241 BC — an exceptional find, since almost nothing of Carthage's military fleet had ever been recovered. It now sits in the Lilibeo archaeological museum, a former winery at Baglio Anselmi. The same lagoon holds Mozia, the Phoenician island colony bought in the early 1900s by the Englishman Joseph Whitaker, who spent decades excavating it.
duomo di San Tommaso di Canterbury · Lilibeo · Mozia and 16 more
Arancina · Pasta alla Norma
20 places to stay · top rated: Dome Hotel 9.5 · Hotel Rainbow Resort 9.4
Festivals, food fairs and events throughout the year.
Nearest airport: Trapani Birgi, 13 km away
Marsala is part of 🍷 Food & wine 🏖️ Seaside
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📅 Every year on 19 January
On 19 January Marsala honours its patron: the small statue of the Madonna della Cava, found in a quarry in 1518 according to tradition, is carried in procession to the cathedral for a solemn mass — and the town takes the day off.
📅 Every year on 24 June, with celebrations in the days before
Every 24 June Marsala celebrates its co-patron St John the Baptist with a procession and fireworks over the Lungomare Boeo, after days of concerts, themed talks and seafront market stalls.
📅 Every year on Maundy Thursday
Nine costumed groups act out Christ's Passion through Marsala's old town on Holy Thursday — a living procession run by the Sant'Anna confraternity since the seventeenth century.
duomo di San Tommaso di Canterbury Marsala's mother church, dedicated to an English saint and rich in Gagini sculpture. 
Lilibeo Marsala's Punic-Roman city, born from Motya's fall: a 28-hectare archaeological park at Capo Boeo. 
Mozia Phoenician city on a Stagnone island, home to the famous Motya Charioteer in the Whitaker museum. 
Museo archeologico Baglio Anselmi The Capo Boeo museum in Marsala holds the only Punic warship to survive to our day. 
Museo Whitaker Motya island's museum, home to the Motya Charioteer and the Phoenician finds gathered by Joseph Whitaker. 
Villa Cavallotti Public garden of Marsala, laid out in 1895 over the moat of the San Francesco bastion. Saffron rice, ragù with peas and caciocavallo cheese inside a golden crust. Round and feminine in Palermo, pointed and called arancino in Catania: the quarrel is serious.
Read more →Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Marsala, but an easy day trip away.
