Marina Di Marsala 

Thanks to its strategic position in the Mediterranean Sea, the port of Marsala has always been a great reference point for commercial trades in Sicily, especially after Punics destroyed Mothia Island and the inhabitants of the city settled in the Lylibeo promontory to recover their business.

The Port of Lilybeo, situated north of the city and right of Capo Boeo, since the first millenium B.C, became an essential crossroads between Sicily and Africa. Phonicians, Chartaginians and Romans landed in Marsala: in 47 B.C, Julius Caesar took shelter in Lilybeo and Pontius Pilate, too, stopped here during his travel to Palestine in 31 B.C.

The strategic position of the city became a great point of contention between Chartaginians and Romans until the latter defeated the Chartaginian army in the battle of Egadi Islands in 241 B.C.

Fallen from its prestigious position together with the Roman Empire and plundered by Vandals, the port of Marsala reflourished thanks to Arabs who highly appreciated its position and features and baptized the whole city as "Ali's port". The city therefore became Marsa Alì, after which it is currently named. Only in the 14th and 15th century, the ancient port of Lilibeo became a new point of contention between Spanish, French, Ottomans and even pirates. Closed in 1572 by John of Austria, the son of the Emperor Charles V, the port fell in disuse for a long time.

A new commercial push occured in the 19th century when the English trader J. Woodhouse, interested into the excellent qualities of the local wine, build a 800-metre dock in the southern part of the city where to load barrels. This facility was later developed in 1847 thanks to the support of the Bourbon government.

On May 11th 1860, Giuseppe Garibaldi landed in the dock built by Woodhouse, beginning the process of Italian unification.

The current port of Marsala is an artificial port enclosed between two curve coastal docks and an outer dock, with a 200-metre wide mouth. The eastern dock, reserved for small ships, is 460 metres long. In the southern part of the port raises a marina that can host boats up to 35 metres in length.

This marina includes 236 berths, 18 of which are specifically reserved for transiting boats. Sea bottoms reach a maximum depth of 4 metres. When entering the marina, yachtmen are recommended to pay attention to a buoy located 5.5 miles north of the port. The current tourist port of Marsala is a functional facility equipped with quays, mooring rings, water and electric charging columns.

In 2014, Marsala Yachting Resort Srl's project for the construction of the new Marina di Marsala was finally approved. The new marina will offer 1,036 berths for boats and yachts up to 75 metres along with a wide range of yachting services. 

In addition to regeneration interventions in the whole port basin, the project envisages a new arrangement of the already existing port facilities.

Large boats will benefit from a safely well-equipped mega dock (8 metres wide). A filling station will be located at the inner breakwater, in a well-sheltered and easy-to-reach zone. The new marina will also include a shipyard stretching over a surface of over 14,000 square metres, in addition to a 800-square-metre shed and some slipways. The construction of the new port is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2017.