Marsala
Marsala | |
|---|---|
| City of Marsala | |
View of the city's harbour and part of the Saline di Marsala in the background | |
Location of Marsala | |
| Coordinates: 37°47′53″N 12°26′03″E / 37.79806°N 12.43417°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Sicily |
| Province | Trapani (TP) |
| Founded | 396 BC |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Massimo Grillo |
| Area | |
• Total | 243.26 km2 (93.92 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 3 m (10 ft) |
| Population (30 September 2021) | |
• Total | 80,158 |
| Demonym(s) | Marsalese Lilibetano |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 91025 |
| Dialing code | 0923 |
| ISTAT code | 081011 |
| Patron saint | Our Lady of the Cave (Madonna della Cava) and Saint John the Baptist |
| Saint day | respectively 19 January and 24 June |
| Website | comune.marsala.tp.it |
Marsala (Italian: [marˈsaːla], local Sicilian: [maɪsˈsaːla]; Latin: Lilybaeum) is an Italian comune located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth largest in Sicily.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1861 | 29,012 | — |
| 1871 | 31,384 | +8.2% |
| 1881 | 36,903 | +17.6% |
| 1901 | 53,173 | +44.1% |
| 1911 | 63,803 | +20.0% |
| 1921 | 70,442 | +10.4% |
| 1931 | 52,804 | −25.0% |
| 1936 | 57,171 | +8.3% |
| 1951 | 68,886 | +20.5% |
| 1961 | 74,786 | +8.6% |
| 1971 | 73,492 | −1.7% |
| 1981 | 79,175 | +7.7% |
| 1991 | 80,177 | +1.3% |
| 2001 | 77,784 | −3.0% |
| 2011 | 80,218 | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 80,474 | +0.3% |
| Source: ISTAT | ||
The town is famous for the docking of Giuseppe Garibaldi on 11 May 1860 (the Expedition of the Thousand) and for its Marsala wine. A feature of the area is the Stagnone Lagoon Natural Reserve – a marine area with salt ponds.
Marsala is built on the ruins of the ancient Carthaginian city of Lilybaeum, and includes in its territory the archaeological site of the island of Motya, an ancient Phoenician town. The modern name likely derived from the Arabic مَرْسَى عَلِيّ (marsā ʿaliyy, "Ali's harbor"), or possibly مَرْسَى اللّٰه (marsā llāh, "God's harbor").