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{{more footnotes|date=January 2013}}
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{{Infobox Italian comune
| name = Mazara del Vallo
| official_name = Città di Mazara del Vallo
| native_name = {{native name|scn|Mazzara}}
| image_skyline = San Nicolò Regale, Mazara.jpg
| imagesize =
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Church of San Nicolò Regale.
| image_shield = Mazara del Vallo-Stemma.svg
| shield_alt =
| image_map = Map of comune of Mazara del Vallo (province of Trapani, region Sicily, Italy).svg
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Mazara within the Province of Trapani
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| coordinates = {{coord|37|39|N|12|35|E|region:IT-TP_type:city(51359)|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes =
| region = [[Sicily]]
| province = [[Province of Trapani|Trapani]] (TP)
| frazioni = Borgata Costiera, Mazara Due
| mayor_party =
| mayor = Salvatore Quinci ([[Civic List (Italy)|Civic list]])
| area_footnotes =
| area_total_km2 = 275
| population_footnotes =
| population_total = 51534
| population_as_of = 31 October 2017
| pop_density_footnotes =
| population_demonym = Mazaresi
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 8
| twin1 =
| twin1_country =
| saint = [[St. Vitus]]
| day = June 15
| postal_code = 91026
| area_code = 0923
| website = {{official website|http://www.comune.mazaradelvallo.tp.it}}
| footnotes =
}}

'''Mazara del Vallo''' ({{IPA|it|madˈdzaːra del ˈvallo|lang}}; {{langx|scn|Mazzara}} {{IPA|scn|matˈtsaːɾa|}}) is a city and {{lang|it|[[comune]]}} in the [[province of Trapani]], northwestern [[Sicily]], [[Italy]]. It lies mainly on the left bank at the mouth of the [[Mazaro]] river.

It is an [[agricultural]] and [[fishing]] centre and its [[harbor|port]] gives shelter to the largest fishing fleet in Italy. The city is also one of the most historically significant in [[Sicily]].

== History ==
=== Etymology and origins ===
Mazara was founded by the [[Phoenicia]]ns in the 9th century BC{{citation needed|date=October 2022}} with the name of ''Mazar''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home : Oxford English Dictionary |url=https://www.oed.com/start;jsessionid=6FBAECC49E612B2C778DC6C9BB38AA69?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F239614%3FredirectedFrom%3Dmazar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408180859/https://www.oed.com/start;jsessionid=6FBAECC49E612B2C778DC6C9BB38AA69?authRejection=true&url=%2Fview%2FEntry%2F239614%3FredirectedFrom%3Dmazar |archive-date=2023-04-08 |access-date=2025-08-05 |website=www.oed.com |language=en}}</ref> who made it an important mercantile emporium. The discovery of Phoenician vases demonstrate the existence of a Phoenician port built between the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Other evidence is in the palace of the Knights of Malta, where finds show the existence of the ancient Punic trading post. Also, a stone slab engraved with a Phoenician inscription found in the channel of the river Màzaro is now preserved in the Museum of the Dancing Satyr.

It then passed under the control of [[Greece|Greeks]], [[Carthage|Carthaginians]], [[Roman Empire|Romans]], [[Vandals]], [[Ostrogoths]], [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]], before being [[Muslim conquest of Sicily|occupied]] by the [[Arabs]] in the year 827 AD.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Mazara del Vallo {{!}} Italy |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mazara-del-Vallo |access-date=2021-10-08 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> During the [[Emirate of Sicily|Arab period]], Sicily was divided into [[Three valli of Sicily|three different administrative regions]], ''[[Val di Noto]]'', ''[[Val Demone]]'' and ''[[Val di Mazara]]'', making the city an important commercial harbour and centre of learning.

In 1072, Mazara was conquered by [[Normans]], headed by [[Roger I of Sicily|Roger I]]. During that period, in 1093, the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Mazara del Vallo]] was instituted.

After the death of Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], Sicily passed to the [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevins]], then followed by the [[Catalans]] of the [[Aragon Crown]]. The Aragon period (1282–1409) is characterized by a political, economic and demographic decline of Mazara. The city passed under the control of the [[House of Savoy]] in 1713, a reign which lasted only five years, being replaced by the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg Empire]] (for 16 years) followed by the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbons]]. In 1860 the city was finally conquered by [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] and the [[I Mille|Mille]], thus joining the then newly formed [[unification of Italy|Kingdom of Italy]].

The city was known as ''Mazzara del Vallo'' until the [[World War II]] period, following which the spelling was changed to ''Mazara del Vallo''.

=== Today ===
Today Mazara is widely considered to be one of the most important fishing centres of Italy;<ref name=":0" /> tussles about fishing rights, especially with the North-African countries, figure large in the town's recent history, boat sequestrations being a common event. Currently the fishing business in the city seems to be less significant, mainly because of the increasing lack of younger people willing to work in the industry.

== Geography ==
Mazara borders the municipalities of [[Campobello di Mazara]], [[Castelvetrano]], [[Marsala]], [[Petrosino]], and [[Salemi]].<ref>{{OpenStreetMap link|r|39318|Mazara del Vallo}}</ref> It counts the hamlets (''[[Frazione|frazioni]]'') of Borgata Costiera and Mazara Due.

== Main sights ==
{{travel guide|section|date=January 2022}}
[[File:Arco Normanno, Mazara.jpg|left|thumb|Norman Arc]]
Mazara made national news in March 1998, when a bronze statue called the ''[[Dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo|Dancing Satyr]]'' (''Satiro Danzante'') was found off the port, at a depth of {{convert|500|m|ft}} in the [[Strait of Sicily]] by a local fishing boat. The statue is believed to have been sculpted by [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] artist [[Praxiteles]] and is now on display to the public in a dedicated museum in the city, after having been on show at the [[Chamber of Deputies]] of [[Rome]], and in [[Aichi]], [[Japan]]. After this event, the city quickly gained in terms of visiting tourists and a national advertising campaign was mounted with the slogan ''Mazara del Satiro''.

Other attractions include the ''Norman Arc'', that is the remains of the old Norman Castle built in 1073 and demolished in 1880, and a number of churches, including the Royal Saint Nicholas (''San Nicolò Regale'') Church, a rare example of Norman architecture built in 1124, the Seminary, built in 1710, which surrounds the main local [[piazza]], ''Piazza della Repubblica'', and St. Vitus on the Sea (''San Vito a Mare'') Church. In honour of [[St. Vitus]], the official patronal saint as well as a native of Mazara del Vallo, the St. Vitus Feast (''Lu Fistinu di Santu Vitu'') is held every year.

== Transportation ==
Mazara del Vallo is connected to the rest of Sicily by a regional [[train]] service (run by [[Trenitalia]]), a private bus service (only to Palermo), and by car, via the [[Autostrada A29 (Italy)|A29 highway]] (also known as ''[[Palermo]]-Mazara del Vallo''). It is reachable from [[Trapani-Birgi Airport]] by an infrequent bus service or by taxi (€20 per person) and from [[Palermo International Airport|Palermo]] by car or taxi.

== International relations ==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy}}
* {{flagicon|TUN}} [[Mahdia]], [[Tunisia]]
* {{flagicon|ESP}} [[Santa Pola]], [[Spain]]
* {{flagicon|GRE}} [[Volos]], [[Greece]]
* {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Trebisacce]], [[Italy]]

== See also ==
* [[Diocese of Mazara del Vallo]]
* [[Mazara Calcio A.S.D.]]
* [[Al-Mazari]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{EB1911 poster|Mazzara del Vallo}}
{{Commons and category|position=left|Mazara del Vallo}}
* {{Wikivoyage inline}}
* [http://www.comune.mazaradelvallo.tp.it/ Official website]
* [https://www.visitsicily.info/en/mazara-del-vallo/ Sicilian Tourist Site]

{{Province of Trapani}}{{Phoenician cities and colonies|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mazara del Vallo| ]]
[[Category:Coastal towns in Sicily]]
[[Category:Fishing communities in Italy]]
[[Category:Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy]]
[[Category:Phoenician colonies in Sicily]]
[[Category:History of Islam in southern Italy]]