Introducing Marsala
Best known for its sweet dessert wines, the historic centre of Marsala is an elegant town full of stately baroque buildings and bookshops within a perfect square of walls.
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It was founded by the Phoenicians who escaped the Roman onslaught at Mozia. Not taking any chances, they fortified their city with 7m-thick walls, which ensured it was the last Punic settlement to fall to the Romans. In AD 830 it was conquered by the Arabs, who gave it its current name, Marsa Allah (Port of God).
It was here in 1860 that Giuseppe Garibaldi, leader of the movement for Italian unification, landed in his rickety, old boats with his 1000-strong army – a claim to fame that finds its way into every tourist brochure.
Last updated: Oct 28, 2008
