S.Giovanni church
Cave Sibilla
Baglio Anselmi
Punic ship
The ruins of three Roman insulae are on Cape Boeo. One of them
was entirelly occupied by a great residence (villa) of the Imperial Age(
III° cent.a.C.). It had private thermae. You can still see some of
the mosaics which decorated the floors and the “suspensoria”,pillarets
that held the pavement suspended to allow the circulation of hot air.
A little further there is the church of “ S.Giovanni fuori le mura”,
dated XIVth century. It is built above a cave where Sibilla Cumana was
living. In the cave there are mural paintings aof the Vth century and
a font that early Christians used as baptistery. The Church is dedicated
to St. John Baptist, patron Saint of Marsala together with Madonna della
Cava.
Near Cape Boeo, an old building, the Baglio Anselmi, is the Regional Archeological
Museum. The Baglio was built at the end of 1800 and it was a factory where
Marsala wine was produced. It has a big interior courtyard where you can
see some archeological finds , such as a tomb and a furnace and some ancient
walls. The Museum illustrates the history of Lilibeo and its territory
from prehistory to Middle Age. Many glass cases show interesting archeological
finds from Mothya and some jewellery found off tghe coast of Cape Boeo.
The main archeological find is the Punic Ship, the only shipwreck of Phoenician-Punic
age in the world. The ship was found in the Stagnone Lagoon, near Mothya.
It is an object of studies all over the world.
