Description of the attraction
Mozia is a small island of only 45 hectares in the Stagnone protected archipelago in the province of Trapani. Back in the 12th century BC. Mozia became an important trading point for Phoenician merchants and sailors, as well as their commercial base and a kind of unloading dock. In 397 BC. the settlements of the island were destroyed by Dionysius of Syracuse, and the next year Mozia was conquered by the Carthaginians. But by that time, the island had already lost its significance and, with the exception of isolated settlements during the Hellenic and ancient Roman periods, remained abandoned. Traces of those settlements have come down to us in the form of the ruins of several villas.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, archaeological excavations were carried out on the territory of Mozia, and at the beginning of the 20th century, the entire island was acquired by Joseph Whitaker, an archaeologist and heir to a British family who permanently lived in Sicily and made a fortune in the wine trade. Whitaker, during his excavations, discovered the Phoenician-Punic sanctuary of Cappidazzu, part of the ancient necropolis, the so-called House of the Mosaics and the fortifications of the North and South Gate. By his order, a museum was built on the island, divided today into two parts: the old section contains items collected by Whitaker himself, and the modern section contains the latest finds. Here you can see terracotta products, vases, pottery, a sculptural composition representing two lions tormenting a bull, and a white marble statue of Apollo, created in the 5th century BC.
The Sanctuary of Cappidazzu, which is translated from the Sicilian dialect as "big hat", was originally used for animal sacrifices, and was later rebuilt with the addition of a certain sacred building.
On the northern bank of Motsia there is an ancient necropolis - this is a vast rocky area with small pits, in which urns with the ashes of the dead were once kept. From the 7th century BC for storing urns, a temple was used - the so-called Tophet Mozii. Later, it contained donated terracotta products.
The central part of the island was inhabited - traces of a perpendicular road network and the House of Mosaics were found here, which is a two-story structure with a spacious rectangular courtyard surrounded by a covered gallery. A mosaic of black, white and gray stones was laid out on the floor of the gallery - a small part of it can still be seen today.
Also worth mentioning is Casermetta - a building built opposite a fortified tower, of which only the southern part has survived. It stood between the House of Mosaics and the South Gate. The casermetta was split in two, flanking an open corridor, at the end of which was a staircase leading to the upper floors.
You can get to Mozia only through two private berths, where ferries and boats from Sicily come. From the same berths you can go to other islands of the Stagnone archipelago.
