Marsala boasts museum institutions of great importance and archaeological and painting laboratories. The Regional Archaeological Museum “Baglio Anselmi“ holds artefacts from the ancient Lilibeo, including the beautiful statue of Venere Callipige and the interesting wreck of a Punic ship whose sinking is dateable to the mid III century B.C., coinciding with the battle of the Egadi islands (241 B.C). The ex monastery of San Pietro is an important multipurpose centre with the municipal library, conference and exhibition room, video library, children’s recreation centre: Today it is home to the interesting Civic Museum, divided into three sections: Risorgimental-Garibaldian, Archaeological and Popular Traditions. Eight magnificent Flemish tapestries, donated to the Mother Church in 1589 by Mons. Antonio Lombardo, make up the museum attached to the same church. The Archivio Storico Comunale - (Historical Municipal Archive) and the Ente Mostra di Pittura Contemporanea Città di Marsala - Contemporary Painting Exhibition City of Marsala are contained in the Carmine complex.
Sumptuous churches, monastic complexes, ancient buildings, two urban gates, a military quarter, the historic wine cellars make up the monumental patrimony of the city. The majestic Mother Church of presumed Norman origins, which was completely renovated in the XVII century, and the palazzo VII Aprile, with a sixteenth century appearance, with their façades, although different in style, animate the piazza Loggia, while the complex of San Pietro (XVI century) with the high sixteenth century observatory dominates the Cassaro, the main street. The Churches of Purgatorio, San Giuseppe and San Francesco, with their evident Baroque stamp create a pleasant union between architecture and the urban context. The magnificent cloister (XVIII e XIX century) of the Carmine Monastery, the church, the bell tower with an astonishing winding staircase, and the splendid square make the complex a place of rare beauty and one of the most suggestive of the city.
Sumptuous churches, monastic complexes, ancient buildings, two urban gates, a military quarter, the historic wine cellars make up the monumental patrimony of the city. The majestic Mother Church of presumed Norman origins, which was completely renovated in the XVII century, and the palazzo VII Aprile, with a sixteenth century appearance, with their façades, although different in style, animate the piazza Loggia, while the complex of San Pietro (XVI century) with the high sixteenth century observatory dominates the Cassaro, the main street. The Churches of Purgatorio, San Giuseppe and San Francesco, with their evident Baroque stamp create a pleasant union between architecture and the urban context. The magnificent cloister (XVIII e XIX century) of the Carmine Monastery, the church, the bell tower with an astonishing winding staircase, and the splendid square make the complex a place of rare beauty and one of the most suggestive of the city.
Grignani Palace
“Among the noblest houses, definable as palaces, the house of Count Grignano takes place. It is situated in piazza Carmine and it fills up an entire wing of the area, with a distinguished inside garden”. With these words, Marchese di Villabianca referred to Palazzo Grignani in his work “Storia di Marsala” at the end of the Eighteenth century. Palazzo Grignano (or Grignani, as the spelling fluctuates during the centuries) stands in the ancient and evocative piazza Carmine, enhanced by the old monastery of Carmelite friars (with a church consecrated to Maria Annunziata with octagonal bell tower) and by the neoclassical palazzo Vaccara, now transformed into hotel. Next to palazzo Grignano stood the palace of Cappasanta family . This family was protagonist of city life until the Seventeenth century, and later, when they extinguished or moved away, the palace became property of the Grignano family, which enlarged its house toward the south, but it never unified the two façades, for this reason the front is unfinished. Probably, the family couldn't combine the buildings because of financial straits. Palazzo Grignani is a solid building of the eighteenth century which maintains some elements of previous centuries, such as the three windows with lintels bordered by an horizontal frame typical of Manneristic style. The big portal with a rounded arch is framed by two tall pilasters of simple ashlar holding an horizontal frame. Among the balconies of the second floor, just one, which has a wavy and harmonic design, presents a threshold with a wavy outline lying on volute corbels and a wrought iron railing shaped like the chest of a goose; the modelled jambs hold up a broken pediment in which a decorated medallion is inserted. The building is enclosed by a ledge with projection held by corbels. On the side front of via Garaffa, the only relief element is a little balcony with the railing shaped like the chest of a goose, typical of eighteenth century. In the income statement of Antonio XI Grignano, a detailed description of the palace can be found; this is useful to acknowledge the original structure of the building, highly degraded by frequent damaging of the last century and by its state of neglect of the last ten years. The count “says he has got a big house, with three floors, in which he lives; starting from the ground floor, he says that in the court there are five arches hold by four columns of white marble and by nine doors”. Following, a detailed description of ground floors rooms in which there are a stable, two big warehouses with three arches which contained two hundred salme of corn, carriages room, two houses for the domestic staff, another store to contain until 80 salme of corn and a store to save he straw. A door gave access to “a garden used for entertainment time composed of two tumoli of earth with four paths covered with vines”, with fig, apple, pear, peach, pomegranate trees and many other plants. In this garden, enclosed by a stone wall, there was running water, a well (water was drawn through the senia) and a toolbox for the gardener. Stairs of white marble gave access to the first floor, in which there were bedrooms and kitchen, the latter with running water “a grilletto”. Proceeding to the second floor, there was a gallery with three arches held by three pilasters made of stones of marquetry. In this gallery, there was a door entering to the living-room, where two doors gave access to other bedrooms, the Chapel and a terrace with glass doors. The two small houses adjoining the palace, placed in the three courts of modern via Garaffa, belonged to the Count as well. The palace, restored to the city, now hold the town art gallery of Ente Mostra di Pittura.
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Tel.: 0923 952535
Opening Times: Open Tuesday - Sunday 10.00-13.00 18.00-20.00 Closed Monday www. pinacotecamarsala.it - E-mail : [email protected] |
The Archaeological Regional Museum “Baglio Anselmi“
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The Archaeological Regional Museum “Baglio Anselmi“ is situated in an ex-wine producing company. It was founded in the 1970 for the conservation of the wreck of the Punic ship and only later was to house the exhibition of finds coming from the urban excavations which show the history of the city from prehistoric to medieval times.
The wreck of the Punic ship was found in 1971 in the length of sea off the coast of the Lunga island by an English mission. The stern and the side of the ship are conserved. It has a slim line, 35 m long and a width of 4.80m with about 68 oarsmen. The Guide lines and the traces of the Punic alphabet visible on the planking have allowed the dating of the boat (III Century. B.C.) and her construction. The ship probably sank during the battle of the Egadi islands. At the end of the room there is a vast collection of amphorae. - VIRTUAL TOUR |
Punic ship
The interesting wreck of a Punic ship whose sinking is dateable to the mid III century B.C., coinciding with the battle of the Egadi islands (241 B.C).
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Mother Church
The Mother Church was built in 1628 on the site of a pre-existing Norman church presumably dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket, bishop of Canterbury. The façade has mannerist-Baroque characteristics on the first level, divided by twin columns and robust pilasters; the fine main doorway is of late baroque style. The higher level, completed in 1956, holds two statues of great decorative effect, of i Santi Giovanni Battista,Tommaso Becket - the Saints John the Baptist and Thomas Becket (to the left of the large window), Leone Magno and Gregorio Magno (on the right).
The expansive interior, in the basilica plan type with a transept and high cupola, is divided into a large nave and two large side aisles with two rows of marble columns. Among the many fine works particular attention must be given to the marble statue of San Tommaso, a masterpiece by Antonello Gagini, la Madonna del Popolo by Domenico Gagini, marble icon from the chapel of SS.Sacramento, by Bartolomeo Berrettaro and Antonello Gagini, the painting by Antonello Riccio depicting the la Presentazione al tempio - Presentation to the temple. Tel. 0923 716295
Tel/Fax 0923 952535 Opening Times: Open 08.00-12.30. - 15.00-20.00 |
Church and Complex of San Pietro
The church of San Pietro has a rounded rose window and a risorgimento doorway which bears the date of construction 1569. The interior with a single nave, holds fine works of art including an elegant sixteenth century holy water stoup and a painting depicting San Benedetto, dated 1631, an important work by the painter Antonio Mariani from Lombardy. Attached to the church is the ex- Benedictine monastery with the characteristic specola (1583), a quadrangular tower with a double loggia, an elegant balustrade and a pyramidal spire. the rooms of the monastery including the refectory open onto the internal courtyard where part of a fine loggia is conserved. Today it is home to the Civic Museum which includes three sections: Risorgimental-Garibaldian, Archaeological and Popular Traditions
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The Civic Museum: Risorgimental-Garibaldian, Archaeological and Popular Traditions
Tel. 0923 993181 – 0923 993182 – 0923 718741 – 0923 718499
Opening Times: Open Tuesday - Saturday 09.00-13.00. / 16.00-20.00 Closed Monday and Sunday |
Church and Museum of "Carmine"
In the suggestive elongated square is the church, the bell tower and the Carmelite monastery, the first monastic order to settle in Marsala at the end of the XII century. The church was built in the XVI century and was renovated in the XVII century, assuming on the inside a Baroque style. The octagonal bell tower, with a characteristic winding staircase, built to the plans by Giovanni Biagio Amico in the XVIII century, replaces the pre-existing tower. The monastery which today is home to the Ente Mostra di Pittura Contemporanea and holds works by great contemporary masters, conserves architectural traces from different centuries from the XIV century to the XIX century; The fine internal cloister from the XVIII century which underwent reorganisations renovations and reshaping in the XIX century is of interest.
Tel. 0923 713822
Opening Times: Open Tuesday - Sunday 10.00-13.00 (october-June) 18.00-20.00 (october-June) 19.00-21.00 (June-September) Closed Monday |
Palazzo VII Aprile
The palace which was the seat of the Jurors was built in 1576 on the site of the ancient loggia of the Pisani, which is why the space in front is commonly called “piazza Loggia” by the people from Marsala. It was completed in the mid XVIII century with the realization of the façade by the architect Giuseppe Moccia, it has strong Palladian influences in the two levels of porticoes, characterised by a serliana pattern. The inside, notably slender sector rises into a tower where there is a clock and on the top there is a quadrangular room with open arches.
After 1860 the name loggia was changed to VII Aprile in memory of the popular insurrection against the bourbon government on the 7th of April 1860, a few days before the Landing of The Thousand. Today the local council hold meetings in the building. |
Tapestry Museum
In the museum there are eight magnificent Flemish tapestries, donated to the Mother Church in 1589 by Mons. Antonio Lombardo who had probably received them as a gift from the Queen of Spain.
The tapestries were made with an elegant threading of wool and silk, finely coloured and in a vertical wool warp, by the tapestry maker from Brussels Cornelis Tons who was active between 1550 and 1575. They are from cartoons by the Flemish painter Peter De Kempeneer who worked in Italy in the suite of Polidoro da Caravaggio. Inside the frames decorated with flowers, fruit and joyful figures, there is the portrayal of eight scenes from the Judaic-Roman war for the conquest of Jerusalem fought by Vespasiano and his son Tito, according to the writings of Giuseppe Flavio in De bello Judaico. Tel. 0923 711327
Opening Times: Open Tuesday - Sunday - 09.30 / 13.00 - 16.00 / 18.00 Closed Monday Adult Ticket: € 4,00 Student Ticket: € 2,00 |
Addolorata Church
The church which has a central layout was built in 1691 in the place of a miraculous event, and reconstructed in 1790. Here the statue of the Madonna Addolorata (XVIII century) is kept. The statue is much venerated by the population and on Good Friday, is gives life to a well attended and moving procession
Tel. 0923 713195
Opening Times: Open 08.30-12.00. - 16.00-19.00 |
Church of Purgatorio (Purgatory)
The present layout of the church dates back to the reconstruction carried out between the second half of the XVII century and the beginning of the XVIII, by the Congregazione delle Anime del Purgatorio who, already in 1601 had taken over in the pre-existing church of the XVI century, dedicated to the Saints Fabiano and Sebastiano. The baroque façade, decorated with powerful twisted towers, is from 1701. Recent excavations along the foundations of the church have brought to light wall structures of a sacred building dating back to the proto Byzantine époque.
The interior layout is a basilica plan type with a single nave and two side aisles. The apse and the vaults of the nave and the transept are decorated with frescoes (XVII-XVIII century), mixed with fine stuccoes. Today is the seat of the Auditorium of Santa Cecilia. Tel. 0923 716295
Opening Times: Open 08.00-12.00. - 15.00-20.00 |
Simulacrum of the "Madonna della Cava"
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The present church is fruit of the post war reconstruction of the church of 1628, which rose above an underground church with a single nave, articulated by three arcades. The vault is made of a mass of granite and in the floor is a well. On the left hand side of the altar a stairway leads to another cave which according to tradition was where the simulacrum of the Madonna della Cava-Madonna of the quarry was hidden.
History of the rediscovery The cult dates back to the time of the iconoclast persecutions (726-730), when the emperor Leone III l’Isaurico ordered the destruction of all the simulacrums, many of which were hidden. According to tradition, in 1514, the Augustinian priest Leonardo Savina had a vision of the Madonna who indicated the place where he would find her effigy and ordered him to build a church. Excavations of the quarry of via XIX Luglio, then via dei Santi were carried out straight away and on the 19th January 1518, following the collapse of a mass, the cave which hid the simulacrum of Madonna, who became patron saint of the city, was discovered. Opening Times: Open 09.00-12.00. - 16.00-19.00 (Monday - Thursday) 09.00-12.00 (Friday) Mass is celebrated on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 10:00 ; Sunday at 18.30. |
The Giuseppe Whitaker Museum
The Giuseppe Whitaker Museum, situated in the house built by Giuseppe Whitaker on the island of Motya, which he used as a country residence, contains exhibits coming for the most part, from the ancient Phoenician city of Motya.
In addition to the historical Whitaker Collection, displayed in the Whitaker wing, in the same wooden showcase painted white in the early 1900s, the museum houses a vast selection of materials coming from the modern excavations, which have taken place in different parts of inhabited Motya (1960-1990), placed in the premises after the restructuring of the service area of the building itself. The first room is dedicated entirely to didactics: a plastic model of the island of Motya indicates archaeological zones and there are numerous illustrated panels regarding the history of the Phoenicians and their civilization. The room with the skylight, the old service courtyard of the Whitaker building, houses the statue of “Giovane of Mozia”; at the back of the statue, two doors lead into the new exhibition. The large room with a trussed roof, the former Whitaker kitchen, contains the showcases and panels, which were found in the prehistoric era, the materials from the Fortifications and those from the various inhabited zones in Motya. Industrial activities developed on the island, consisting mostly of the making of pots, are illustrated by the objects coming from the “industrial zone south of the necropolis” and in the “east zone K/K”, in which were also found beside a kiln, amphorae still to be fired together with pots which had been badly fired. A big city like Motya must certainly have had more than one place of worship. Up to now, we know of the “Cappiddazzu” sanctuary, whose architectural style is of the period after the destruction of 397 B.C. The excavations of the sanctuary restored to it Phoenician as well as Greek materials (7th -4th century B.C.) but also Roman pottery and objects from the medieval period, maybe from the frequent visits to the area, by the Basilian monks, who built a basilica right on the remains of the pagan sanctuary. The English excavations of the 1970s located, moreover, two small chapels outside the walls of the North Gate. The back room is dedicated entirely to the exhibition of materials from the Tofet, the typical sanctuary of the west Phoenician city, excavated by Professor A. Ciasca. Large inscribed stelae and masks as well as numerous pots relating to the sanctuary’s long history can be found there. Finally, three showcases are reserved for the exhibition of the offerings from the ancient necropolis of Motya of both Greek and Phoenician material dating from the end of the 7th and 5thcenturies B.C. Also presented are offerings from the necropolis of Birgi found in 1996. A large white panel divides the new exhibition from the Whitaker wing, with the Collection of Giuseppe Whitaker as the last part of the new museum’s itinerary, as well as being its original centre. Tel. 0923 712598
Opening Times: November - March 09.00-15.00. April - October 09.30-13.30 / 14.30-18.30 Adult Ticket: € 9,00 Student Ticket: € 5,00 |