History
In 397 BC the Phoenician-Punic colony of Mozia (est. 8 BC) near the Sician southern-western coast was invaded and destroyed by Syracuse tyrant Dionisio I. The survivors took refuge on the Sicilian coast and founded a new town which they called Lilybaion ("Lilybaeum" in latin), "The town which looks at Lybia"(at the time the whole African coast was referred to as Lybia).
Lilybaion was conquered by romans in 241 BC and became one of the most important towns in Sicily: commercial centre, venue of the commissioner, was enriched with mansions and public buildings and dubbed splendidissima urbs by Cicerone, commissioner between 76 and 75 BC.
Ravaged by Vandals during the V century A.D., was annexed in VI century to Justinian's Empire, during this period the town lived dark centuries, marked by dysentery, neglect of Bisanzio and forays of pirates. Arabic-Berbers' arrival at the nearby Granitola mount in the VIII century entailed the resumption of commerce and the start of rebirth of the town, which 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- or also Marsa Allāh, namely "God's harbour", whence the current name. The economic and demographic growth entailed an important arabic planning extension, based on arabo.
However some doubt about the origin of the current name still exists. In addition to the aforementioned hypothesis, there is the theory that Marsala comes from mare salis, or rather "Salt ponds by the sea" for the presence of salt pond along the whole northern coast. Nevertheless, references to this theory cannot be found in literature of the time.
Since the end of XI century the area was conquered by Swedish, Norman, Angevin and Aragonese troops. During this span of time Marsala lived a wealthy period, but the burying of the big harbour of Punta Alga, decided by the emperor Carlo V to stop Saracenis forays, entailed the end of its flowering.
After that, just after two centuries things started to get better in Marsala. At the end of 1700, an arrival from the sea changed again the future of the town: the landing of the English John Woodhouse who "invented" the wine marsala. Characterized by a natural high alcoholic gradation, Marsalese wine wasn't suitable for transport. Woodhouse tried to add alcohol with good gradation to the wine, thus guaranteeing its stability. So, he started its exportation and its fanbase flourished, including Admiral Nelson and his fleet. The wine so "invented" by John Woodhouse was able to compete, especially in the dry version, with Mader and with Porto, very popular among subject of The Queen. Woodhouse spurred the Marsalese economic explosion, including the funding of infrastructural buildings (e.g. the current Marsalese harbour of Margitello).
On 11 May 1860 the landing in Marsala of Giuseppe Garibaldi took place. After that the unification of Italy took place.
In the history of Marsala there another 11 maggio, a sad memory for its people, the one of 1943: an English bombardment on the town centre caused permanently defaced its baroque centre and claimed many victims. For their sacrifice, many people of Marsala were awarded civil medals.
Read more about this topic: Marsala
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of progress is written in the blood of men and women who have dared to espouse an unpopular cause, as, for instance, the black man’s right to his body, or woman’s right to her soul.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“To care for the quarrels of the past, to identify oneself passionately with a cause that became, politically speaking, a losing cause with the birth of the modern world, is to experience a kind of straining against reality, a rebellious nonconformity that, again, is rare in America, where children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)
“All things are moral. That soul, which within us is a sentiment, outside of us is a law. We feel its inspiration; out there in history we can see its fatal strength.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)