Mazara del Vallo

A city suspended between East and West

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The cities of the sea are always a mélange of peoples, colours, flavours. Mazara del Vallo is a city of port where the passage of very different cultures, which have been able to live together, is evident. It is not only a city that overlooks the sea, but it is the expression of a world, the western one, which overlooks another world, the Arab one. Here, for centuries, coexist the Casbah, the ancient fortified Arab citadel, and the Giudecca, the fifteenth-century Jewish quarter. Walking through the narrow alleys of Mazara one is struck by the beauty that the passing of the centuries has left behind, and is overwhelmed by the scents of the kitchens in which fish is often prepared.

Much of the economy Mazara, in fact, revolves around fishing, so that Mazara is considered one of the most important fishing centres of the country. The red shrimp is famous here, and appreciated by the greatest chefs in the world, a delicacy that cannot be missed. However, Mazara is not only sea and fish, of course.

There are numerous Norman churches to visit. The ruins of a castle built in 1072 by Roger I are particularly fascinating; it is also worth visiting the Museum of the Satyr, housed in the ancient church of Sant’Egidio, where you can admire numerous archaeological discoveries in the Channel of Sicily. Mazara is also the town that gave birth to the famous artist Pietro Consagra, interpreter of international abstractionism, whose works are housed in the Civic Museum.

It is worth mentioning the two WWF reserves, Lago Preola and Gorghi Tondi and Capo Feto, populated by migratory birds and a vast biodiversity.

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Museum of the Satyr

(Ex Church of Sant'Egidio) Mazara del Vallo

The Museum of the Satyr tells the story of the submerged heritage of the Strait of Sicily, whose findings tell a millennial history of contacts between peoples and cultures. The Museum is located within a prestigious historical building, itself evidence o...

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Cathedral of SS Salvatore

Mazara del Vallo

The cathedral reveals the importance and history of a city that was once a diocese and is now still a bishopric. The oldest plant dates back to the eleventh century. The rich facade has a portal surmounted by a high relief of Roger I of Altavilla on horse...

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Jesuit College

Permanent Exhibition "Pietro Consagra: graphic works 1947-1977"

It is a monumental complex of rare beauty in the heart of the historic city centre, next to the Museum of the Satyr and the Church of S. Ignazio. It is a prestigious exhibition centre of ancient and contemporary art. Amongst these, there is a unique perma...

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Islamic Quarter (Medina)

Mazara del Vallo

In the heart of the city there is a Medina also known as Casbah, in Arabic “fortified citadel”, the Saracen settlement built in the ninth century. This district is one of the most fascinating port and it has been inhabited for centuries by fis...

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