Stagnone Lagoon Tour — Mini Cruise Among Islands and Salt Flats

Un'ora di pura meraviglia: navigando tra le isole, il sale e il silenzio dell'unica laguna naturale della Sicilia.

There is a place in Sicily where time slows down, the sky mirrors itself in the water, and history runs deep into the sandy floor of the lagoon. It is called the Stagnone di Marsala: some 2,000 hectares of protected waters, the largest lagoon area in Sicily, safeguarded as a Natural Nature Reserve.

Aboard our boats — shallow-draft vessels equipped with all comforts — we take you to discover this one-of-a-kind ecosystem. The lagoon's depth ranges from just 50 centimetres to a maximum of 3 metres, shaped over millennia by the accumulation of plant and sediment debris held in place by Posidonia oceanica, Cymodocea nodosa and the green alga Caulerpa prolifera: a living, green and transparent seabed.

Gliding gently across the water, you will discover the four islands that inhabit this mirror-like expanse: Isola Grande (also known as Isola Lunga), the largest — almost 10 km long, with 120 hectares of pine forest, fine sandy beaches and dunes alive with migratory birds; Isola Santa Maria, in the northern part of the lagoon, cloaked in unspoilt Mediterranean scrub; the legendary Mozia, an ancient Phoenician city and one of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in the Mediterranean, home to its own museum and the celebrated Giovinetto di Mozia marble statue; and finally Scola, the smallest island, owned by the Municipality of Marsala.

The lagoon's waters are full of life: crabs, cuttlefish, sea bream, mullet, sea bass, red mullet, eels and sole share these shallows in a way that never fails to surprise and enchant. This is the sea as you least expect it — calm, quiet, rich in meaning.

An experience we recommend to families, to travellers in search of authentic landscapes, and to anyone who wants to feel — just for once — the gentle weight of silence.