Marsala finally has a museum that celebrates its legendary wine. Titled to John Woodhouseconsidered the father of Marsala, the Museum was inaugurated yesterday afternoon at Palazzo Fici, home of the Municipal Enoteca managed for years by the Strade del Vino association.
On the first floor of the historic headquarters, the numerous citizens who came to the inauguration were able to admire the layout curated by the architect Maurizio Giammarinaro: the tour begins with a room in which a film is played that tells the story of Marsala, after which we move on to the rooms dedicated to the three English entrepreneurs who transformed the liqueur produced by Lilibetan winemakers (known as “perpetuo”) into a product capable of establishing itself on the main international markets (Woodhouse, Ingham and Whitakher) before passing the baton to the Florio family. Next, there are the names of the numerous Marsala families who have continued to produce Marsala. Also suggestive are the spaces dedicated to the various types of Marsala and those reserved for marketing and communication, where it is possible to admire the historical labels of the various wineries and the one curated by the multinational OI, which in recent years has collected the legacy of Sicilvetro and which within the Museum underlines the value of the union between wine and glass, updating it with the most recent themes related to the circular economy.
The room dedicated to deserves a separate discussion Marisa Leo, conceived as a tribute to the marketing and communications manager of the Colomba Bianca company, killed by her ex-partner last September. Inside there is also the work created by the artist from Marsala Fabio Ingrassia (which was unexpectedly removed from Porta Garibaldi a few months ago) with the now famous phrase “My life is not a bargaining chip”, but you can breathe – above all – that feeling of strong love that Marisa Leo had for the world of wine and for this very reason “his” room is dedicated to the workers, who with their passion and their fundamental work keep the Marsala wine tradition alive, contributing to renewing its charm. A love for her work which was also underlined by her father, Giuseppe Leo, who during the inaugural ceremony which preceded the traditional ribbon cutting thanked the administration for wanting to remember his daughter by dedicating a space to her inside of the new Museum.
The afternoon began with the words of the president of the Strade del Vino association, Salvatore Lombardo, who underlined how the Marsala Museum can play a fundamental role in enhancing the territory. The president of the Consortium for the Protection of Marsala Wine, Benedetto Renda, defined the Museum as “an important piece”, as part of a more general process which is seeing the return of many local producers to Marsala. The president of OI highlighted the strong link of his company with the wine world, while for the regional deputy Stefano Pellegrino the new Museum can be “a flagship” for the city in a broader process of cultural renewal. After the intervention of the prefect of Trapani, Daniela LupoMayor Massimo Grillo he explained that the administration’s intent is to send a message of unity, cooperation and peace from this new Museum. “We will transfer the staff of our tourist office here”, adds the mayor, underlining that the Museum will be a stop on an itinerary that starts from the Monument to the Thousand, passes through the San Pietro Complex and ends at Palazzo Fici, to tell the story of city and its wine.
