Marina di Marsala

The Marsala marina boasts important mentions in the history of our country, but not only. This port has always attracted people from neighboring territories because of the strategic position it occupied in the Mediterranean functional to commercial activity. The city, in fact, had been an important commercial center from the very beginning. Following the destruction of the Punic outpost of Mothia, the inhabitants of the city settled on the opposite promontory of Lylibeo and from here resumed their economic activities.

The Port of Lilybeo, north of the city, to the right of Cape Boeo, since the first millennium B.C. became an obligatory passage to Africa. Phoenicians, Carthaginians, and Romans landed in Marsala: Julius Caesar in 47 B.C. C. took refuge in Lilybaeum place of gathering of legions, but also Pontius Pilate in 31 BC. C on his way to Palestine.

Its strategic location made it an object of contention between Carthaginians and Romans until the latter prevailed with victory at the Battle of the Aegates in 241 BC.

Decayed with the Roman Empire and plundered by the Vandals, the port of Marsala flourished again with the interest of the Arabs, who appreciated its location and features so much that they renamed the entire city the “port of Alì.” The city became Marsa Alì from which it derives its present name. It was not until the 14th and 15th centuries that the ancient port of Lilybaeum became the center of many interests, Spanish, French, Ottoman, and beyond pirates. Closed since 1572 at the behest of John of Austria, son of Emperor Charles V, who thought to ward off the interests of others, the port remained uninhabitable for a long time.

A new commercial boost occurred with the interest of the British in the area’s wine vocation, thus making the port of Marsala the starting point for a new and intense commercial activity. In 1816 the English merchant J. Woodhouse, in fact, interested in the excellent qualities of the local wine, had an 800-meter pier built on the southern side of the city to embark barrels on his ships. This structure was then continued in the with a subscription of the inhabitants of Marsala first and by the Decurionate in 1847with the support of the Bourbon government.

On May 11, 1860 in the ports of Marsala, among the many British ships, the ships of Garibaldi and the Thousand were also spotted, which landed here on the very pier built by Woodhouse.

The port of Marsala is an artificial harbor enclosed by two curvilinear coastal piers and an outer pier, with a 200 m wide mouth. The eastern pier, where small ships can be alongside, is 460 m long, of which only 50 m have docks. In the southern part of the port there is also a marina capable for boats up to 35 m in length.

This marina has mooring availability for 236 boats, 18 for transit and a maximum depth of 4 mt. An important note for boaters is the presence of a buoy 5.5 miles to the north that marks the limit of safe waters. The marina currently has a functional structure, equipped with docks, rings, bollards, and ladders.

In 2014 the final project for the creation of the new Marina di Marsala marina, built by Marsala Yachting Resort srl, was approved, with the creation of a facility that will house 1,036 berths for yachts up to 75 meters in length and a wide range of tourist services. It is a work destined to enhance the image that this territory, and more generally Sicily, represents in the world in terms of tourist attraction.

In addition, the project includes the redevelopment of the entire port basin to reallocate the right spaces for all existing port activities. Then, a further extension of the protective works of the port entrance and a development of the operational depths of the cargo area up to 7 meters will be carried out.

Larger vessels will have a dedicated 8-meter wide Mega Dock, equipped with comfort and safety. Fuel supply is located at the head of the breakwater pier, in a sheltered area accessible without detours to vessels. Additional services of the Marina include a shipyard adequate in both size and characteristics to the mooring plan, with more than 14,000 square meters of yard and 800 square meters of shed and haul-out and launching cove up to 9 meters wide. Work on the new ports is expected to be completed by 2017.