Parco delle Cave - Marsala

About

The "Parco delle Cave di Marsala" (Marsala Quarries Park) originates from the patient work of reclamation of some abandoned quarries after they had exhausted their sandstone calcarenite, which was extracted in blocks called “tufa”. Its recovery was made by private citizens who, by safeguarding it from the risk of being dumped, made it accessible. The park is a “hidden city” which develops into different levels all of them connected by paths and galleries. The peculiar alternation of volumes and shadows, created by the work of the cavers, has resulted in a landscape of unique and evocative architecture, with resemblance of «a small Grand Canyon». Moreover, the park hosts a particular flora, with dwarf palms, thymes and wild asparagus, while the remaining Mediterranean scrub and cracks in the rock favor the nesting of many protected birds, including the bee-eater.

At a glance

• Typical visit: about 1 hour 30 minutes