Marsala is the second city of the Province of Trapani, on the western tip of Sicily. It is best known for its famous fortified wine, which was "discovered" in 1773 by the English trader John Woodhouse, who realised that adding spirits to the local wine preserved it perfectly for the long sea voyage to England.
The name comes from the Arabic "Marsa Allah" (Port of God), a reminder that the Saracens held this coast for centuries. Marsala is also where Garibaldi and his Thousand landed on 11 May 1860 to begin the campaign that would overthrow Bourbon rule in Sicily and eventually unify Italy.
The old town is a pleasant grid of baroque churches and low stone buildings, walkable and quiet. The archaeological museum houses the remains of a Punic warship found offshore, and the salt flats shared with Trapani are beautiful at sunset, with their windmills and pink-tinged pools. Just offshore, the small island of Motya preserves an entire Phoenician city.
The two big Marsala cellars — Cantine Florio and Cantine Pellegrino — both run tastings, and the duomo on Piazza della Repubblica is dedicated, oddly, to Thomas Becket of Canterbury.