Museo Lilibeo (Marsala): Punic Warship, Tickets & Hours

In short: The Museo Lilibeo in the Baglio Anselmi in Marsala displays the world’s only Punic warship — recovered by Honor Frost in the 1970s, and since October 2025 joined by a ram from the naval battle of the Aegadian Islands. Two things you need to know: only around 10 by 3 metres of the ship survive. And the 10-euro museum ticket does not include the archaeological grounds — get the 12-euro cumulative ticket instead. In summer the museum stays open until midnight.

Quick Facts

• Type: regional archaeological museum within the Parco archeologico di Lilibeo
• Address: Lungomare Boeo 30, Marsala; second entrance on Piazza della Vittoria
• Managed by: Parco archeologico di Lilibeo (Assessorato dei Beni Culturali, Regione Siciliana) — its own ticket desk, its own tariff authority
• Admission: Museum + Chiesa di San Giovanni 10 euros / reduced 5; outdoor site Capo Boeo separately 4 / 2; cumulative ticket 12 / 6
• Museum opening hours: Oct–Mar Tue–Sun 9am–7:30pm; Apr–May daily 9am–7:30pm; Jun–Sep Tue–Sun 9am–midnight
• Outdoor site opening hours: considerably shorter — May–Sep until 7pm, Nov–Mar until 5pm
• Highlights: the Punic warship, the Egadi 13 ram, the Marausa wreck, the tessera hospitalis, the Venere pudica
• Closing day: Monday — except from April to end of May
• Tickets: box office only, no online presale
• Information: +39 0923 952535

Why it’s worth the visit

There is no second object like this anywhere in the world. Until 1971, Phoenician and Punic warships were known only from written sources — Polybius describes them, but no one had ever seen one. Then a shifting sandbank in the Stagnone lagoon exposed the stern of just such a ship, a few metres below the surface. What stands here is the only physical source we have on Punic shipbuilding technique at all.

The museum turns this into more than a display case: a walkway runs alongside the hull, letting you see the shell-first construction, the lead-sheathed hull with bronze nails, and the frames of oak and maple. In the same room — today named after the archaeologist Honor Frost — the Egadi 13 ram has stood since October 2025, bearing a Punic inscription, one of 28 rostra recovered off Levanzo from the naval battle of 241 BC. Alongside it are two Montefortino-type helmets.

Who it suits

Criterion	Well suited	Limitations
Antiquity and ship enthusiasts	the world’s only Punic warship, plus a late Roman wreck	only around 10 by 3 metres of the Punic ship survive
Families	ships, wrecks and amphorae appeal to children too	the outdoor site is a 28-hectare coastal headland
In summer heat	the museum stays open until midnight from June to September — ideal in the evening	the outdoor site already closes at 7pm then
Combining with Mozia	a natural fit content-wise: the ship was found in the same lagoon	no combined ticket — Mozia is privately run and paid separately
Without a rental car	second entrance on Piazza della Vittoria at the edge of the old town	bus lines and walking times are not officially documented
Spontaneous visitors	the museum and Capo Boeo are regularly open	the satellite sites only open at weekends or by appointment
Monday visit	open daily from April to end of May	otherwise Monday is the closing day

Tickets: the most important trap

The ticket structure is unusual, and it regularly costs visitors either money or half the programme:

Ticket	Full	Reduced
Museum + Chiesa di San Giovanni	10 euros	5 euros
Area archeologica Capo Boeo + Teatro Impero mosaics	4 euros	2 euros
Cumulative ticket (all four)	12 euros	6 euros
Ipogeo di Crispia Salvia	4 euros	2 euros
Santa Maria della Grotta	4 euros	2 euros
Latomia dei Niccolini	4 euros	2 euros
Domus di Via delle Ninfe	3 euros	2 euros
Necropoli monumentale Via del Fante	3 euros	2 euros

The most expensive ticket is not the complete one. Anyone paying 10 euros has not seen the archaeological grounds. Bought separately, both cost 14 euros — the cumulative ticket is 12. So there’s no reason to buy them separately if you want to see both.

As a museum run by the Assessorato, the Sicilian regional tariff rules apply: free on the first Sunday of the month, free under 18, EU citizens aged 18 to 25 pay 50 percent, teachers, journalists and ICOM members go free, and people with disabilities plus one companion go free. Over 65 pays full price — Sicily has no senior discount. Tickets are only sold at the box office; the park has no online presale. Tickets for the satellite sites are also available at the museum.

Opening hours — museum and grounds diverge

Period	Museum + San Giovanni	Capo Boeo outdoor site
1 October – 31 March	Tue–Sun 9am–7:30pm (last admission 6:30pm)	Tue–Sun until 5pm (Nov–Mar)
1 April – 30 April	daily 9am–7:30pm	Tue–Sun until 6pm
1 May – 30 May	daily 9am–7:30pm	Tue–Sun until 7pm
1 June – 30 September	Tue–Sun 9am–midnight (last admission 11pm)	Tue–Sun until 7pm
October	Tue–Sun 9am–7:30pm	Tue–Sun until 6pm

The difference matters in practice: in summer the museum is open until midnight, but the outdoor site only until 7pm. Arrive in the afternoon and you’ll lose Capo Boeo first. Conversely, the evening museum opening in high summer is a real advantage — you head into the cool when nothing else is open outdoors.

The closing day is Monday, except from 1 April to 30 May, when it’s open daily. This is counterintuitive and easy to miss. In fairness: the official calendar leaves 31 May and 31 October ambiguous — a source error we can’t resolve. The summer opening until midnight appears word for word on two official pages, but it’s unusual enough that a call before travelling doesn’t hurt: 0923 952535.

What you’ll see

From the entrance the route splits: to the right, the underwater finds; to the left, the city of Lilybaeum.

The ships

• The Punic warship in the Sala Honor Frost — the stern and port side, around 10 by 3 metres. The Parco dates it as important evidence of the First Punic War, i.e. before 241 BC, without attributing it to the Battle of the Aegadian Islands.
• The Egadi 13 ram, bearing a Punic inscription — permanently in the same room since October 2025, along with a panel and video on the naval battle and two Montefortino-type helmets. It’s one of 28 rostra recovered off Levanzo; most of the rest are in the museum in Favignana.
• The Marausa wreck — a late Roman cargo ship, recovered between 1999 and 2011, in its own room. Cleverly presented: the right side of the hull is fully reconstructed, while the left is laid out flat, as it was found.
• Medieval wrecks from Marsala’s south coast, including Relitto A with a cargo of wine amphorae, presented in a ship-shaped display case.

The city of Lilybaeum

• Tessera hospitalis — two clasped hands sealing a guest-friendship pact between a Punic and a Greek. A small object that says more about the city than any statue.
• Venere pudica — a 2nd-century Roman copy after a Hellenistic original. Note: the Parco does not use the common names Venere Callipigia or Venere di Lilibeo.
• Cult room with Venus, Asclepius and Salus, plus fragments related to the cult of Isis.
• Grave goods from the Punic and Hellenistic-Roman necropolises, stelae, and finds from Mozia and the necropolis of Birgi.
• The permanent exhibition Vivere a Lilibeo — everyday life in the city, presented from the most recent to the oldest like a simulated stratigraphy.

The Capo Boeo outdoor site

• Insula I — a large imperial-era domus with its own baths complex and mosaics in the African style, including a Medusa mosaic. Plus Insula III.
• Plateia Aelia — one of the main Roman streets, with late-antique overlays: two painted tombs and a small basilica.
• Public baths with a praefurnium and a calidarium on suspensurae, plus the north-western fortifications with a tower.
• The Grotta della Sibilla inside the church of San Giovanni Battista — carved into the rock, with a spring; likely used by the earliest Christian community for baptism, and from the late 12th century onward as a crypt. In 1554 the Spanish government demolished the church because it obstructed the artillery field; it was rebuilt in 1576.

Baglio Anselmi: a winery becomes a museum

The museum occupies a 19th-century baglio — a Marsala wine production facility. That’s no coincidental reuse: after recovery, the ship’s timbers were preserved in fresh water and then mounted in this very baglio, which was converted into a museum specifically for that purpose. It was set up in 1986 and completely redesigned in March 2017.

On the recovery: in 1969, dredging works near Punta Scario brought ancient vessels to light. In 1971, a shifting sandbank exposed the stern of the ship, near what was once a Punic canal, now lost. The excavation was entrusted to the archaeologist Honor Frost, and the recovery ran from 1971 to 1974. The exhibition room is now named after her.

Lilybaeum itself remained largely untouched archaeologically, because medieval and modern Marsala retreated inland from the coast. The park therefore covers a substantial part of the ancient city, across a 28-hectare area at Capo Boeo — the point in Sicily closest to Africa.

Getting there

The museum is at Lungomare Boeo 30 on the Capo Boeo headland. The site has two entrances: one at Lungomare Boeo 30 and one at Piazza della Vittoria on the edge of the old town — the practical access point for pedestrians coming from the centre.

In fairness: the Parco publishes nothing on walking times from the centre or the station, bus lines, or parking. We therefore give no figures in minutes rather than estimate them. The park can be reached for information at 0923 952535. More on the city under Marsala; more generally under bus & train in Sicily and car rental in Sicily.

Accessibility and photography: people with disabilities and one companion get free admission. The park gives no information on physical accessibility — wheelchairs, the walkway alongside the ship, the outdoor site — nor on photography rules for visitors. Both remain open questions.

Best time to visit and common mistakes

The museum makes sense year-round, and is especially good in high summer thanks to its evening opening. The most common mistakes:

• Taking the 10-euro ticket for the complete one. The outdoor site isn’t included. Get the 12-euro cumulative ticket.
• Arriving in the afternoon and planning to see Capo Boeo. The grounds close hours before the museum.
• Monday. Closing day — except from April to end of May.
• Turning up at the satellite sites unannounced. The Ipogeo, Santa Maria della Grotta and the Latomia only open at weekends; the Necropoli and Domus only by prior booking.
• Expecting a complete ship. What survives is around 10 by 3 metres.

One note on the outdoor site: Capo Boeo is a 28-hectare coastal headland. The Parco doesn’t address shade or heat — in high summer it’s still worth walking the grounds in the morning rather than at midday. For a seasonal overview, see Best Time to Visit Sicily.

Nearby

• Mozia and the Stagnone lagoon — the natural follow-on: the Punic ship was found in this same lagoon. Mozia, however, belongs to the private Fondazione Whitaker, with its own ticket and its own boat connection.
• Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista with the Grotta della Sibilla — included in the museum ticket, right on the site.
• Old town of Marsala — the park’s second entrance is on Piazza della Vittoria at the edge of the old town.
• Museo Pepoli in Trapani — coral art rather than antiquity, a good second museum day in the west.
• Other park sites around the city: Ipogeo di Crispia Salvia, Santa Maria della Grotta, Latomia dei Niccolini, Necropoli Via del Fante, Domus di Via delle Ninfe.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources & update

Prices, opening hours and discounts based on the official pages of the Parco archeologico di Lilibeo (Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identità Siciliana, Regione Siciliana); information on the collection, the ship, the Egadi 13 ram and the outdoor site based on the same park’s site and blog pages. As of 16 July 2026. Deliberately left open, because not published by the park: walking times, bus lines, parking, physical accessibility, photography rules and a recommended visit duration. The official opening calendar leaves 31 May and 31 October ambiguous. The park does not use the name Venere Callipigia. Admission and opening hours are time-dependent and should be checked before your visit.

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