The present name is derived from the Arab “Marsa Allah” (Harbour of God) or “Marsa Ali” (Ali’s Harbour). The Arabs dominated Sicily and therefore also Marsala for some three hundred years from the eight century onwards, leaving their mark on practically every aspect of the island’s culture. It was they who brought oranges and lemons to Sicily and many of the dishes and sweets that still make our mouth water today.
The coming of the Normans put an end to the myth of the olive-skinned, dark-haired Sicilyn of low stature. At Marsala you will meet many tall, blonde and blue-eyed people of clearly Norman descent. They are, however, the only remaining testimony of the presence of the Normans in Marsala, for none of their works have resisted the ravages of time. The Normans donated Mothia to the Basilian Monks, who changed its name to San Pantaleo.
Following the hated rule of the French under the House of Anjou, Sicily passed first under Aragonese and then Spanish domination, and this long presence has left indelible signs also at Marsala. Monumental complexes like the Spanish Military Quarters, today the headquarters of the municipal administration, and many churches and convents that, having lost their erstwhile function, have now been restructured and put to other cultural uses.
Marsala is also the city where Garibaldi, after landing there with his Thousand in1860, laid the basis for the unification of Italy. Though itself harbouring great riches of history and past civilizations, Marsala is also a nerve centre from which you can easily and in a matter of minutes reach such places Mothia, Mount Eryx, Segesta, Selinus, the Cusa Quarries and the Egadi Islands.
