Things to Do in Mazara del Vallo

Mazara del Vallo, on the coast south of Trapani, has one of Sicily's oldest fishing fleets and a genuine Tunisian community that shows up in the food — couscous here isn't a novelty import, it's a local dish worth booking a tasting for. The old quarter's narrow, Arab-era street layout is worth an hour's wander, and the small archaeological museum holds the Dancing Satyr, a bronze statue pulled from the sea by fishermen. It's a working town rather than a polished one, and that's part of the appeal.