I’ve been impressed with the story of salt in Western Sicily, so I thought on my way east I’d make a quick stop in Marsala to see their salt pans, have a glass of wine and would be on my way to Selinute by noon. Little did I know, the small island of Mozia, located a quick boat shuttle from the Marsala pans, had more to offer than I ever expected. The boat to Mozia cost 5 Euros round trip and the Mozia museum was another 10 which you pay on the island, to find it just type in Mamma Caura Restaurant to your GPS. I’m starting to feel badly for the Phoenecian Carthagenians- they were highly skilled settlers but really bad at defending what they built.
The island of Mozia is privately owned by the Whitaker Foundation and they appear to be in the process of updating a lot of their signage ot include more bilingual signs. The museum itself was the highlight for me with thousands of artifacts on display showing an advanced civilization along with some unusual surprises. The ruins on the island are extensive, but are truly in ruins, and pieces of pottery could be found almost everywhere you looked.
So here’s the thing. The Salt Museum in Trapani was great, I really enjoyed the tour (which they provided in English), but the walk around the salt pans, in comparison to those in Marsala was meh. I’d skip the Trapani salt walk if I were to do it again. The first 8 photos are from Trapani and the Salt Museum, the rest are from Marsala and Mozia.
