|
MARSALA
134km
(83 miles) NW of Agrigento, 301km
(187 miles) W of Catania, 124km
(77 miles) SW of Palermo, 31km (19
miles) S of Trapani.
Marsala was at a time in history occupied by the Saracens and
the city has a North African look
to it with its maze of narrow
streets and alleys. The famous
Marsala wine is made from the
grapes harvested from vines grown
in fields around the city. This
wine is as delightful as Port or
Madeira, and was brought to the
attention of the outside world by
an Englishman, John Woodhouse,
whose ship was forced to anchor at
the Port because of a violent
storm. He tasted the wine at a
local tavern, and realizing its
uniqueness, set about exporting it
to the rest of the world.
The Saracens who had conquered the city called it Massa el
Allah, or the Port of God, and
this soon became Marsala. But it
was." But it was the
Carthaginians who really built the
town on Cape Lilibeo in 396 B.C.
after fleeing nearby Mothia, a
city which was destroyed by armies
from Syracuse. The next to capture
Marsala were the Romans after a
siege that lasted a decade
(250-241 B.C.). f Julius Caesar
came here in 47 BC on his way to
North Africa. The next to come was
Garibaldi with a thousand of his
red-shirts, he arrived on May 11th
1860 and this was the beginning of
the liberation of Sicily from the
rule of the Bourbons. At the time
of the Second World War Marsala
was heavily bombed by the allied
air forces just before they began
their land invasion of Sicily. The
city suffered very heavy damage.
Modern day Marsala is a prosperous little town on Cape Boeo,
the westernmost tip of Sicily.
Many of its hotels and restaurants
are occupied by businessmen
trading in the famous Marsala
wine. If you have the time Marsala is worth a visit.
|
