Mozia Island & Whitaker Museum

Mozia (ancient Motya) was a Phoenician trading town founded in the 8th century BC on a small island in the Stagnone lagoon, until it was destroyed by Syracuse in 397 BC. In the early 20th century the English Marsala-wine family Whitaker bought the island and began the excavations. Today you can walk a path around the island past the sacred area, the Cappiddazzu sanctuary, the ancient dry dock and the tophet. The Whitaker Museum displays the finds, led by the Youth of Motya, a marble statue of a young man in a pleated tunic and one of the finest Greek sculptures in Sicily. Boats leave from the jetty at the Saline Ettore e Infersa salt works, about 30 minutes by taxi from the port, and take 10 minutes. The island and museum ticket is €12, and the boat is paid separately. There is little shade, the museum closes from 14:00 to 15:00, and boats stop in bad weather. Allow at least 3 hours in total.