The History - Mazara del Vallo
Mazara: a gateway on the sea Some archaeological discoveries testify that the city already existed as a Phoenician call. However only with the Arab domination and thanks to its position Mazara reached its maximum splendour. The Arabs were able to exploit the potential of the port of Mazara increasing the traffic to and from the city that became one of the most important commercial centres of Sicily. Mazara was also capital of one of the three valleys they divided Sicily: Mazara Valley in the centre-western part, Noto Valley in south-eastern part and Demone Valley in north-eastern part. The economic growth of the city lead to a demographic expansion. The urban plant, in fact, dates back to the Arab period and is characterized by narrow and elegant streets, fortified by a wall, with mosques, monumental buildings, baths and gardens whose traces today are almost nonexistent. After the Arabs came the Normans who built the Cathedral and the Castle whose beautiful pointed arch with a double lintel can still be admired today. In 1093 one of the biggest episcopate of the island was established there. The following rules destroyed and impoverished the great heritage created in the previous centuries. The city therefore headed for a slow decline. Since the mid-nineteenth century there was a resumption of agricultural activities and especially of those ones connected to the fishing that gave a boost to the city. Today Mazara has one of the most important fishing fleets at the international level.
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