Mazara del Vallo
Mazara del Vallo is a municipality in the province of Trapani in Sicily region of Italy with 50 624 inhabitants ( 31 December 2012).
Location and data
Mazara del Vallo is 55 km south of Trapani on the west coast of Sicily. The river Mazaro flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The municipality covers an area of 275 km ². The inhabitants live by agriculture, industry ( furniture manufacturing ) and mainly from fishing and fish processing. The port is the largest fishing vessel fleet in Italy.
With the exit " Mazara del Vallo " the A29 / E90 motorway, this ends here. Mazara del Vallo has a rail connection to the railway route Palermo - Trapani. From the harbor, boats depart to Porto Empedocle and Pantelleria.
The neighboring municipalities are Campobello di Mazara, Castelvetrano Marsala, Salemi and Petrosino
History
In the 5th century BC Mazara del Vallo was founded by the Phoenicians, and was the port of Selinunte. After the First Punic War, the Romans Mazara took over. After the city fell. Only with the Arabs, the Mazara del Vallo conquered in 827, the city became important again and became the capital of the Val di Mazara region. 1072 took over the rule of the Normans. Roger I taught here its seat of government in 1093 and Mazara del Vallo became a bishop. In the 17th and 18th century, the Islamic center was supplemented with baroque buildings.
Structures
The Piazza della Repubblica is the center of the city with Baroque buildings such as the Bishop's Palace and the cathedral and a statue of San Vito.
The Most Holy Salvatore cathedral was built from 1086 by the Normans in 1696 and renovated in the Baroque style. There are still old components in the church, the walls of the main altar. In 1906 the cathedral a new facade. Inside the three-aisled cruciform cathedral is more than 3 meters high, painted wood cross, which is one of the oldest painted crosses Sicily. In addition, there is a Mamorgruppe by Antonello Gaginis in the church.
The Norman church of San Nicolo shelves from the 11th century has a square ground plan, following the model of the Byzantine churches. She is an example for the Arab- Byzantine- Norman style. The dome inside is supported by four pillars with antique capitals.
The church of Santa Caterina dates from the 14th century. Get a page in the portal Chiaramonte style. Inside is a statue of the saint by Antonello Gaginis.
The Palazzo dei Cavalieri di Malta, a palace of the Knights of Malta from the 16th and 17th century, with a wide front and richly adorned portal, now houses the Town Hall.
The port is the economic center of the city with fish market and offices of the shipping companies. The district Kasbah goes back to the Arab era. Here today live mainly immigrants from North Africa.
The Museo Civico is located in a former Jesuit College from the 17th century and displays finds from Roman times as well as a collection of paintings. The Museo del Satiro is set for an antique bronze figure of the satyr that a fisherman went late 20th century into the net. At the Expo 2005 in Japan, this statue represented Italy.
- Structures
Cathedral
Statue of San Vito
Saint Nicholas
People
- San Vito ( 297-304 ), the patron saint of the city and one of the patron saints of Sicily
- Pietro Consagra (1920-2005), sculptor, representatives of abstract art
- Vito Rallo ( b. 1953 ), Archbishop and Vatican Diplomat
- See also List of bishops of Mazara del Vallo