Trapani
Trapani lies below the headland of Mount Erice, with the Egadi Islands visible most days off its shore. Trapani is also the capital of its own province, which embraces the medieval hill town of Erice . This most westerly of Sicilian provinces covers a land of great natural beauty, including a coastline that has many long beaches of white sand such as the one at San Vito lo Capo.

The city stands on a sickle-shaped promontory stretching into the sea. Its economy is based largely on fishing and winemaking along with salt mining, with tourism growing annually. A maze of narrow streets makes up its historic core, but it has none of the charm of Erice. If you have only a day for the west, your time is better spent in Erice to the north. But if you have an extra day, consider devoting it to historic Trapani, once a Phoenician outpost. Trapani's most dubious reputation is as a major Sicilian center of the Mafia.

Drepanon, as it was once called, was the key port in the Carthaginian defense of the island at the time of the Punic Wars. The Romans, led by Catulus, captured the city in 241 B.C., marking its decline. It regained some of its lost prestige during the 9th century when the Saracens landed to conquer it. Three centuries later they were followed by the Normans.

It was here in 1272 that Edward I of England pulled into port fresh from the Crusades to learn that he'd inherited the throne. More conquerors were to come, including Peter of Aragon, who landed here in 1282.

Architecturally, the worst blows to Trapani were the Allied bombardments in 1940 and 1943. The entire historic district of San Pietro was razed. Regrettably, the new Trapani bounced back with the building of several ugly modern blocks -- think Soviet Union in the heyday of the Cold War. As a result of all this destruction, Trapani has fewer historic sites to visit than most Sicilian cities of its size -- but there are some nuggets.


Erice
Originally established some 3,000 years ago, Erice is an enchanting medieval city. From its thrilling mountaintop setting, two sheer cliffs drop 743m (2,438 ft.) to vistas across the plains of Trapani and down the west coast of Sicily. On a clear day, you can even see Cape Bon in Tunisia, but the Sicilian aerie of Erice is often shrouded in mist that only adds to its mystique (or misery, especially in winter, when temperatures can plummet below Sicilian norms and snow is not uncommon). Erice is a lovely place to spend an afternoon wandering the medieval streets, with their baroque balconies and flowering vines, and drinking in the vistas. The southwest corner of town contains the Villa Balio gardens, originally laid out in the 19th century. Beyond the gardens, a path winds along the cliff's edge up to Erice's highest point, the Castello di Venere, today little more than crumbling Norman walls surrounding the sacred site where a temple to Venus once stood. (end frommers)

Mozia
Just 400,000 m in size, the history Mozia is very ancient: as a shipping centre and staging post, and due to its presence near the coast of important trade city, it was one of the most important Phoenician and Carthaginian settlements in the Mediterranean area. The Phoenicians transformed the inhospitable island, which they called Motya, into one of the most affluent cities of its time, naturally defended by the lagoon as well as high defensive walls. Ancient windmills and salt pans were used for evaporation, salt grinding and refinement, and to maintain the condition of the lagoon and island itself. Recently the mills and salt pans (called the Ettore Infersa) have been restored by the owners and opened to the public.

In the 6th century BC, due to the struggles between ancient Greece and Carthage over Sicily, Motia sided with the Phoenicians and Carthaginians against the Greeks. The ancient settlement at Motia, founded in the 8th century BC, was destroyed by the Syracuse tyrant Dionysius the Elder in 379 BC.

During the Middle Ages, Basilican monks settled on the island and renamed it San Pantaleo, and in 1888 was rediscovered by Joseph Whitaker.

The island of Mozia is owned and operated by the Whitaker family, famous for Marsala wines. Tours are available for the small museum, and the well-preserved ruins of a crossroads civilisation: in addition to the cultures mentioned above, Motian artifacts display Egyptian, Corinthian, Attic, Roman, Punic and Hellenic influences. The Tophet, a type of cemetery for the cremated remains of children, possibly as sacrifice to Tanit or Baal Hammon, is also well known. Many of the ancient residences are open to the public, with guided tours in English and Italian. (end wikipedia)


Marsala
Evoking a North African town with its tangle of narrow streets and alleys, Marsala is the home of the world-famous Marsala wine, a rival of port and Madeira. The wine was first popularized in 1770 when an Englishman, John Woodhouse, came ashore from a British ship that had been forced to anchor here during a violent storm. Woodhouse headed for a local tavern, and the rest is history.

The name Marsala dates from the port's occupation by the Saracens, who called it Marsa el Allah, or "Port of God." But it was the Carthaginians who founded the town on Cape Lilibeo (also called Cape Boeo) in 396 B.C. after fleeing nearby Mothia, which had been destroyed by armies from Syracuse. Marsala then fell to the Romans after a siege that lasted a decade (250-241 B.C.). The year 47 B.C. saw the arrival of Julius Caesar, who pitched camp here en route to North Africa.

One of the most famous events in Italian history occurred here on May 11, 1860, when Garibaldi and his brigade of 1,000 red-shirted men arrived to liberate Sicily from the Bourbons.

In 1943, Marsala sustained heavy damage from Allied bombers before their land invasion of Sicily.

Today, Marsala is a thriving little town on Cape Boeo, the westernmost tip of Sicily. Many of its hotels and restaurants are filled with businesspeople trading in Marsala wine. Although Erice is a more popular attraction, Marsala merits a day if you can spare it.


Segesta
There's only one reason to come to Segesta: to see a single amazing temple in a lonely field. For some visitors, that's reason enough because it's one of the best-preserved ancient temples in all of Italy. The trip here takes about an hour from Palermo, and makes a good brief stop en route to Trapani.

Segesta was the ancient city of the Elymi, a people of mysterious origin who are linked by some to the Trojans. As the major city in western Sicily, it faced conflicts with the rival power nearby, Selinus (Selinunte). From the 6th to 5th century B.C., there were near-constant hostilities. The Athenians came from the east to aid the Segestans in 415 B.C., but the expedition ended in disaster, eventually forcing the city to turn for help to Hannibal of Carthage.

Twice in the 4th century B.C., Segesta was besieged and conquered, once by Dionysius and again by Agathocles. Segesta, in time, turned on its old but dubious ally, Carthage. Like all Greek cities of Sicily, it ultimately fell to the Romans.

Selinunte
Guy de Maupassant called the splendid jumble of ruins at Selinunte "an immense heap of fallen columns, now aligned and placed side by side on the ground like dead soldiers, now having fallen in a chaotic manner." Regardless of what shape they're in, the only reason to visit Selinunte is for its ruins, not for the unappealing modern towns (Mazara del Vallo and Castelvetrano) that have grown around it.

One of the superb colonies of ancient Greece, Selinunte traces its history to the 7th century B.C., when immigrants from Megara Hyblaea (Syracuse) set out to build a new colony. They succeeded, erecting a city of power and prestige adorned with temples. But that was calling attention to a good thing. Much of Selinunte's history involves seemingly endless conflicts with the Elymi people of Segesta. Siding with Selinunte's rival, Hannibal virtually leveled the city in 409 B.C. The city never recovered its former glory and ultimately fell into decay.