"Portazza" THe Resort

The holiday farm, immersed in the amazing scenery of the Stagnone Natural Reservation in Marsala, is hosted inside an eighteenth century “baglio”, that is a typical Sicilian structure belonging to a noble family and recently refurbished.

The name of the farm (portazza is door) comes from an ancient gate leading to the Lilybeum harbour, the largest in Sicily, which later the Arabs called Marzakalla, God’s Harbour, whence the present name of Marsala town.

In 1800 the land was purchased by a noble family, the Montaltos, who built there a “baglio”, a typical rural building characterized by a large internal court, as well as several lodgings, stables, stores for the harvest, surrounded by farmed lands. The “baglio” was inhabited by the landowners themselves during the summertime, but also by the farmers who worked there all the year round or for the season. The structure had remained unchanged till the recent refurbishing which permitted a restoration respectful of the existing building and, at the same time, its transformation into a comfortable farm based on rural tourism activities.