MARSALA
The Romans conquered it in 241 BC following the great sea battle that also led to the conquest of Drepanum (Trapani). The Romans called it Lilybaeum.
Lilibeo covers a large square area only partly bordered by the sea; 
the sides facing the mainland were defended by a deep moat and fortified towers. Lilibeo managed to defend itself against the attacks of the Syracusan tyrant, Dionysius I, in 368 BC and then Pyrrhus, in 277 BC. According to the historian Polibius,, Lilibeo was the stronghold that enabled the Carthaginians to maintain their control of western Sicily during the First Punic War.Throughout years of siege and effective naval blockade, Lilibeo resisted Roman conquest and the Carthaginian troops were evacuated only after the peace treaty ending the war. Under the Romans Lilibeo was the seat of one of a pair of questors in charge of the government of the entire island. Cicero held this post, and in 75 BC, described it as a "splendid city." Due to its strategic position along the commercial maritime routes between northern Africa and the Roman province (Italy) Lilybaeum's economy flourished. Not surprisingly, the sea around Marsala has yielded many ancient treasures.
With Rome's decline, Vandals attacked and virtually destroyed Marsala in AD 440. It was already becoming a centre of Christianity. The city maintained its place as a crucial maritime port under Byzantine, Arab and Norman rule. To the Arabs it was Mars el'Allah, literally "Port of Allah (God)," hence Marsala.
Sicily's wine country lies to the east.
The region was always known for its fine grapes, but it was the Englishman, John Woodhouse, who introduced the fortified wine business here in 1796, having already developed a similar product (Port wine) in Portugal. The early years of the nineteenth century saw the arrival of thousands of British troops in Sicily to bolster the armies of the King Ferdinando I during his exile from Naples in view of the Napoleonic occupation of the Italian mainland. Many were based at Marsala. This experience was more than sufficient to encourage other firms to follow Woodhouse's example. Ingham, Good and Whitaker had soon founded wine businesses of their own. The Florio family set up a firm in 1831. The grape-growing region extends westward toward Salemi, Segesta and Sciacca. This is Italy's largest contiguous viticultural region, and also one of the largest such areas in Europe. Domesticated grapes were cultivated here long before their introduction (by the Romans) in France and northern Italy.
On a medieval note, the Norman-era cathedral's dedication to Saint Thomas Becket seems appropriate in view of Marsala's English connections. It was probably the first church, in Sicily or anywhere, to be dedicated to this saint, who is commemorated in a mosaic icon in Monreale's cathedral. (Becket's family obtained refuge in Sicily during his exile from England.) The structure itself has been extensively modified, though certain medieval features are still visible. The cathedral museum boasts some beautiful Flemish tapestries from the sixteenth century, commissioned by the Spanish monarch Philip II.
Of course, there are Roman ruins in Marsala. In the Cape Boéo area are some interesting archeological sites, such as a villa with baths and colorful mosaics, and the Baglio Anselmi Archeological Museum (on Lungomare Boéo) houses some important finds from land and sea, including a Punic era ship. The Church of Saint John (San Giovanni) was built over a cave converted into a home in Roman times, where Roman mosaic floors can still be seen.
Many of of Marsala's older streets have a charming Baroque aspect, though the city is generally rather plain. The city's most noted role in more recent Italian history was its choice by Giuseppe Garibaldi for his Sicilian landing in 1860, a choice determined in no small part by the cooperative attitude of the British commander who allowed the Piedmontese ships to enter the port, and the bribes that made some of the local officials willing to surrender the city with little more than token resistance.
Mozia: This tiny island just off the coast north of 
Marsala was once the home of the Phoenician colony that was expelled in 379 BC and founded Lilibeo (Marsala). The island's role in the events of Sicily's early Phoenician period (before 600 BC) far transcended its diminutive size. The Phoenicians were a seafaring Semitic people from what is now Syria and Lebanon; they founded Carthage and other Mediterranean coastal communities, such as Motia. Therefore, it was only natural that Motia, and then Lilibeo, should side with Carthage in the wars against the Greeks. Ironically, the Greeks themselves owed much, including a great deal of their language and alphabet, to the early Phoenicians, despite their later political differences with the Carthaginians.
The island of Mozia, which is owned and operated by a foundation established by the winemaking Whitaker family (who built the Anglican Church and Villa Malfitano in Palermo), has a remarkable museum and the ruins of an equally remarkable civilization, complete with a harbor and cemetery. Some of the finds on display in the museum have a distinctly Egyptian influence, while others seem almost Hellenic. Though certain of these items were brought to Motia from Asia Minor, others were made locally, based on "foreign" influences. Mozia and its unique museum provide the visitor with a rare unspoiled glimpse into Sicily's Phoenician past.
Mothia itself was founded before 700 BC on the island now known as San Pantaleo in a large lagoon ("Stagnone").
Mothia emerged as one of the most prosperous colonies of the Phoenicians' loose Mediterranean confederation. The more noteworthy features are the fortifications, a submerged road that used to link the island to the mainland, near Birgi, the cothon (or drainage basin and harbour) and the main sanctuaries, in particular the tophet, where the burnt remains of offerings and sacrifices in honour of the god Baal Hammon were collected. Thousands of carved steles where discovered here, and these are the most convincing evidence of Punic sculpture. The most ancient part of old Mozia's industrial area includes several semicircular furnaces, identical in construction to the more ancient pottery furnaces used in Phoenicia.
Historians generally agree that the most more violent attacks of the Syracusan army probably occurred near the northern gate, ending in defeat and plunder in 397 BC.
Visitors with particular culinary interests seem to expect a certain local mystique when they come to the place where the world's most famous cooking wine is made. (Marsala wine is also served with desserts.) 
Though its restaurants offer some excellent cuisine to complement this distinguished wine, the city of Marsala could not be described as particularly exciting. Some of the wineries give occasional tours.
Italy's largest contiguous grape-growing region lies in the far west of Sicily, straddling the low but rugged Gibellina Mountains in what is still sometimes called the "Mazara Valley." It is a vast viticultural area larger than those of Piedmont, Veneto or Tuscany, and the hearty wines produced here under the Sicilian sun are still used to "fortify" the weaker potions created in northern Italy. That, and frequent use in making strong Marsala wine, was their traditional destiny for the last two centuries. More recently, Sicily's wine renaissance has changed both the substance and image of Sicilian wines.
The heart of the region will be found between Salemi and Marsala. More broadly, the viticultural region extends from the suburbs of Marsala south-eastward toward Menfi, framed by the ancient Greek sites of Segesta and Selinunte, including localities such as Alcamo in the northwest, Trapani in the northwest, and Castelvetrano in the south. The larger cities are not without their charm, but it's the smaller towns and hamlets, with the occasional castle or farmhouse, that capture the imagination. And, of course, vineyards as far as the eye can see. The rolling hills planted with vines are themselves the main
attraction; the mountains are merely a backdrop. It's a good place to breathe the tranquility of the real, rural Sicily of centuries past.
Though the Greeks are usually credited with the introduction of viticulture in Sicily around 600 BC (bringing several grape varieties with them during their extensive colonization), the Phoenicians, too, probably raised grapes in this part of Sicily, especially near flat coastal areas. There is also evidence that the Elymians (or Elimi or Elami), western Sicily's native people, raised indigenous grapes and made a form of wine. There is another large wine region in "Hellenic" eastern Sicily, developed around Mount Etna and extending southward to Catania and Siracusa (Syracuse). Until a few years ago, the wineries of western Sicily were perhaps too closely linked to the Marsala wine industry, but many now cultivate grape varieties (not traditionally associated with Marsala) on younger vines introduced recently. This has changed the face of western Sicily as newer vines have been planted to replace older ones.
