Marsala is a seaport city located in the Province of Trapani on the island of Sicily in Italy. The low coast on which it is situated is the westernmost point of the island. It is best known as the source of Marsala wine. The town is situated on the Mediterranean coast. The Arabs gave it its present name “Marsala,” which perhaps is derived from the Arab “Marsa Allah” (Port of Allah). The huge ancient harbor that lay on the northeast was destroyed by Charles V in the 16th century, to prevent its occupation by pirates. The modern harbor lies to the southeast.
On May 11, 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi and his Expedition of the Thousand landed at Marsala and began his campaign to overthrow Bourbon rule in Sicily, during the Unification of Italy process.
Little remains of the ancient Lilybaeum. Fragments of the city walls, squared stones, and some foundations of buildings between the walls and the sea are visible. The so-called grotto and spring of the Sibyl is located under the church of San Giovanni Battista (1555), and is traditionally considered the tomb of the Cuman or Siculian Sibyl.
To the east of the town is a great fosse which defended it on the land side, and beyond this again are quarries like those of Syracuse on a small scale.
The modern town takes the shape of the Roman camp within the earlier city, one of the gates of which still existed in 1887. Sights include the campanile and convent of the Annunziata, and the Baroque Church of the Purgatory.
The main street (the Cassaro) perpetuates the name castrum. The Biagio Anselmi Archaeological Museum houses an example of Carthaginian ship used during the Battle of the Aegates Islands (241 BC), as well as other ancient remains from the area.
Natural sights include the stagnone (“Big Marsh”) lagoon preserved area.
