Carthaginian Period , showing a cultic scene and votive Punic inscription The Carthaginian army sent to conquer
Selinunte in 409 BC landed and camped near the site of the later Lilybaeum. In 397 BC when the
Phoenician colony of
Motya on the southwestern coast of Sicily was invaded and destroyed by the
Syracusan tyrant
Dionysius I, the survivors founded a town on the mainland nearby, the site of modern-day Marsala, which they called by a
Punic name, recorded in Greek as
Lilýbaion () and in Latin as ''''. Over the following two centuries, it became a trade centre for manufactured goods and served as a strategic port between Carthage and Carthaginian territories in
Sardinia. It was built with strong defensive walls from the beginning and had three linked harbours. Punic Lilybaion was never conquered although it was besieged several times e.g. by
Pyrrhus of Epirus and the
Romans. The walls were ultimately over 10m high and 7m thick. They were strengthened for Pyrrhus'
Siege of Lilybaeum in
278 BC by a second wall 10m from the first. The siege lasted 2 months before he withdrew. It was the only city which Pyrrhus could not conquer during his campaign at Sicily. The
First Punic War began here when the
Punic army landed at Lilybaion in 265–264 BC, then marched across Sicily to
Messina, where the
opening clash of the war took place. In 250 BC the Romans sent a huge naval expedition of up to 240 ships towards Lilybaeum, the Carthaginian headquarters. A massive Roman army of 4 legions under the two consuls was also sent. The Carthaginians also understood the importance of this port and put their whole force together to save the city including about 10,000 mercenaries (Celts and Greeks). The Carthaginians sailed 50 ships from Africa under the command of Hannibal to try to save the city by charging towards the centre of the harbour. The Romans did not attempt to stop the entry of the fleet because of their sudden appearance and unfavourable winds in a foreign port. The Roman fleet was
defeated at
Drepana in 249 BC when attempting a surprise attack there, followed by the destruction of the rest of the fleet soon afterwards in a storm. This forced the Romans to settle in for a long siege. The
Siege of Lilybaeum (250 BC) lasted for 9 years without Roman success. Carthage was able to reinforce and re-supply Lilybaeum during the war. Some of the Gallic mercenaries planned to betray the city but
Alexon, who had previously saved
Agrigentum from similar treachery, foiled the plot by informing the Carthaginian commander Himilco. In 241 BC the city was given to the Romans as part of the peace treaty ending the First Punic War and then became one of the most important cities in Sicily.
Roman Lilybaeum In 218 BC, in the
Second Punic War, the
Battle of Lilybaeum was fought between the navies of Carthage and Rome when Carthage attempted a secret raid on the city to re-establish a base.
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the praetor at Lilybaeum, was told about the impending raid and prepared his 20 ships which managed to defeat the 50 opposing quinqueremes. In the
republican period the city was enriched with mansions and public buildings and dubbed
splendidissima urbs by
Cicero, who served as
quaestor in the region between 76 and 75 BC. During the Civil Wars Lilybaeum was twice besieged, in 43 BC by
Sextus Pompeius and 38 by
Lepidus during which the walls were further strengthened as shown by an inscription. The city walls were abandoned in the 4th c. AD as shown by buildings erected over or beside the walls.
Post-Roman Period The city was the seat of the
Diocese of Lilybaeum from at least the early 5th century AD. Ravaged by
Vandals during the 5th century AD, the town was annexed in the 6th century to
Justinian's
Byzantine Empire. In this period the town was struck by dysentery, raided by pirates, and neglected by
Constantinople. The arrival of the
Arabs at the nearby Granitola mount in the 8th century entailed the resumption of commerce and the start of the rebirth of the town. The town was renamed
Marsa ʿAlī "ʿAlī's harbour" or maybe,
Marsa ʿāliyy, "Big harbour", for the width of the ancient harbour, placed near Punta d'Alga. Another possible derivation is
Marsa Allāh, "God's harbour". Since the end of the 11th century, the area has been conquered by
Norman,
Angevin and
Aragonese troops. During this time, Marsala became wealthy, primarily through trade. However the blocking up of the harbour of Punta Alga, decreed by Emperor
Charles V so as to stop
Saracen forays, brought an end to this period of prosperity. The development of
Marsala wine at the end of the 18th century, headed by English merchants settled in Sicily, considerably improved local trade. This triggered an economic expansion in Marsala, including the funding of infrastructure projects such as the current harbour of Margitello. On 11 May 1860
Giuseppe Garibaldi landed at Marsala, beginning the process of
Italian unification. On 11 May 1943, in the lead-up to the
World War II Allied invasion of Sicily, an Allied bombardment of the town permanently damaged its
Baroque centre and claimed many victims: "Marsala Wiped Off the Map" titled the New York Times on 13 May 1943.
Mythology In Greek mythology,
Butes was the only
Argonaut who jumped in the sea while sailing past the
Sirens because he couldn't resist the charm of their singing, but
Aphrodite saved him and transferred him to Lilybaeum.
Archaeology The archaeological area of Marsala has been investigated both through
excavations and
topographic studies.
Lilybaeum, the ancient town, took up a rectangular area on Capo Boeo, a low and rocky
promontory sloping gently down towards the sea. The urban layout of the town can be dated back to the 2nd century BC with modern-day
Viale Vittorio Veneto the
Decumanus Maximus and
Viale Cesare Battisti the
Cardo Maximus. Based on the archaeological findings at Capo Boeo, Lilybaeum was rebuilt twice, in the 1st century BC and in the 3rd century AD. There is not enough evidence to associate the latter with the
365 Crete earthquake, even though literature and archaeological discoveries elsewhere show that other Sicilian towns, such as
Selinunte,
were affected. Several fragments of the city walls and floors and walls of public and private buildings are visible. Excavations in several places under the modern city have revealed rich mosaic floors in town houses. The Baglio Anselmi Archaeological Museum houses an example of
Carthaginian ship possibly used during the
Battle of the Aegates Islands (241 BC) found on the seabed off the coast of Marsala, as well as other ancient remains from the area, such as pottery, marble sculptures and mosaics. Many fine painted tombs and funerary monuments have been excavated showing unique preservation of colours. The three entrance gates into the town dating from
Norman times: Porta Nuova, Porta di Mare and Porta Mazara were rebuilt in the 17th and 18th centuries in a much grander form: Porta Mazara, () rebuilt in 1572, located in the south-east; Porta di Mare () (renamed to Porta Garibaldi), rebuilt in 1685, located in the south-west of the town; Porta Nuova () was rebuilt in 1790, and is located in the north-west of the town. The
city council decided to
demolish the city walls in 1887 to make way for the rapidly-expanding town. Along with this demolition was demolished the north-east gate called Porta Trapani, constructed in the early 17th century, nicknamed "Porticella" due to its small size in comparison to the other three gates of the town; it used to be located at the intersection of
Via Pellegrino and
Via Sardegna. == Geography ==