Regional Archaeological Museum Baglio Anselmi

After our trip to the Valley of Temples, our next stop was at a museum on the northwestern edge of Marsala. We parked in a lot about a block from the museum, and just across the road from a clear blue Mediterranean Sea. We were closer at this point to Africa, than Rome. As we climbed out of the car, a small boy ran over to give us a card for his father's restaurant, where unfortunately, we did not have the time to eat.

The museum, also commanding quite a view of the sea, was once used to store barrels of that famous wine, but today it primarily houses the preserved remains of a large Punic warship. The boat is over 2000 years old, and was built by the Phoenicians who used it in the first Punic war to defend this area.

The museum consists of two high ceilinged rooms. One is used to store the ship, artifacts found with the boat, and information on its recovery and restoration. The other half holds a wide variety of artifacts, including pottery, stelae, personal artifacts such as mirrors, and even mosaic floor sections.

This museum is well worth a quick visit as you head up the coast of Sicily to Palermo. It is even more worth while if you are on your way, as we were, to the island of Mozia