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Sicily Home >  About Sicily >  Cities in Sicily >  Marsala

Marsala on Sicily

Marsala belongs to the province Trapani and has ca. 80.000 inhabitants. The town was founded by the Carthaginians who entered the isle on the west side. They built a fortress in order to have a permanent base on Sicily. The fortress at the sea resisted really all attacks by Romans and Greeks and it was only given to the Roman Empire after the Carthaginians agreed upon peace with Rome. The name of the town stems from the Saracens and derives from “Mars-al-Allah” which means port of God. Because of its strategic good position the port Marsala had great importance under all these rulers and through bargain, money came into town. The town lost its excellent position in commerce when the port of the town was filled up in 1541 to be protected against pirate attacks. Only with the beginning of wine production, which was initiated by the Englishman John Woodhouse, Marsala blossomed out again. The Marsala wine brought back wealth.

As sights could be mentioned the central square in the old town “Piazza Della Repubblica” and the dome San Tomasoo.

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