After the Marsala Marathon: Mozia

The Route: Marsala → Stagnone landing → Mozia → Marsala Logistics: A short taxi or car journey north along the lagoon road, then a shuttle boat of 8 to 12 minutes. The island is flat and the whole day fits between a late breakfast and a mid-afternoon return. Marathon Month: April Duration: Day trip

Marsala ──(about 9 km, 15 mins by taxi or car)──> Stagnone landing ──(8-12 mins by boat)──> Mozia
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   └──────────────────────────(same route back, boats about every 30 mins)───────────────────┘

The Marsala Marathon turns round about 100 metres beyond the landing stage for Mozia, so anyone who ran the second half has already seen the boats tied up and the island sitting low on the water, and has had no way of going to it. Monday is the answer. The Whitaker Foundation, which runs the island, lists April to October opening as 9:30 to 18:30, with the museum closing from 13:30 to 14:30 in the warmer months. Check the foundation's site before you go, because the winter hours are shorter and the changeover date matters in a mid-April trip.

April in Mozia: the lagoon is calm on most mornings and the light is low and clear. The air is mild and the sea is still cold, so swimming does not come into it. The salt harvest is a summer job, so the pans beside the road are flooded and grey-green rather than heaped with the white mounds of the postcards. The wild flowers on the island are in bloom in spring, though how much depends on the year's rain.

Getting there

Public transport to the landing is limited, and none was confirmed for a Monday, so use a taxi (agree the return before you leave) or a hire car. The road follows the lagoon shore and passes the Ettore e Infersa salt works, where a windmill and a small salt museum stand beside the water. The foundation names four boat operators serving the island from the landing stages along the coast, with departures about every 30 minutes and a crossing of 8 to 12 minutes. The island ticket for the museum and site is approximately €12, with reduced rates for younger visitors. Pay for the boat separately and check the price at the landing.

On the island

Mozia was a Phoenician colony from the eighth century BC and was destroyed by Dionysius of Syracuse in 397 BC. Nothing about the walk is hard on tired legs. The island is small and flat, and the paths are packed earth and gravel, with some stony sections where excavation spoil has been laid down. Ruined walls, a sacred pool called the Cothon and the Tophet burial ground sit within a short walk of each other. A causeway runs under the shallow water towards the mainland, and it is easy to see from the north shore on a calm day.

The museum is in the house of Joseph Whitaker, the English wine merchant and amateur archaeologist who bought the island in the early twentieth century and dug much of what is displayed. Its centrepiece is the Giovinetto di Mozia, a marble statue of a young man in a long pleated tunic. The pose is stiff and the drapery is carved with surprising delicacy. Allow about an hour for the museum and two for the grounds.

There is little shade. Bring water and a hat, and check whether the island café is open before relying on it for lunch.

Back in Marsala

Boats run back at the same interval until the island closes. Leave a buffer before the last crossing rather than treating it as a target. In the evening the old town and Piazza della Vittoria, where the race finished, are a flat walk from most hotels. Marsala wine is the local business: the Florio cellars take visits by reservation, so book ahead if you want a tasting.