The Island of San Pantaleo

The Island of San Pantaleo, formerly known as Mozia is an island of the Stagnone of Marsala, located off the west coast of Sicily between Isola Grande and the mainland, and belongs to the Whitaker Foundation.

The island covers almost forty-five hectares and is located in the centre of the so-called Stagnone of Marsala, which constitutes the Regional Nature Reserve of the Stagnone Islands of Marsala where the sea level has risen by about half a metre since Phoenician times, and therefore part of the archaeological remains are submerged. The subsoil consists of a soft, friable, yellow limestone rock, topped by a small layer of fairly hard limestone.

Access to the island is only allowed from two private landing stages, which not only connect Mozia itself to the mainland but also allow visits to the other islands of the Stagnone. The island belongs to the Whitaker Foundation, and although it is open to the public and can be visited during opening hours, there is a ban on unauthorised disembarkation. In ancient times, a road connected the mainland to the island between Cape San Teodoro and the extreme northern tip of Mozia: today, the same road is submerged, and is no longer practicable due to erosion and Posidonia oceanica.