Mazara del Vallo is located at the mouth of the river Mazara and has been an important harbour since the Ancient period, both for its protected position and for its proximity to Africa.
It was conquered by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs and Normans and today it is one of the most renowned fishing centre in Sicily.
The Cathedral, built during the Norman period on the ruins of a mosque, was completely remodelled in the XVII century. The façade, completed in 1906, is ornamented with a decorative doorway and a 16C shallow relief panel depicting Roger I on horseback, felling a Moor. San Nicolò Regale is a building with a square plan with the three apses contained by a bulbous dome characteristic of Arabo-Norman architecture. The skyline is edged with rounded battlements.
The Dancing Satyr, a Greek bronze statue, rediscovered by a fishing boat from Mazara del Vallo in 1995, is preserved at the Museo del Satiro Danzante (The Dancing Satyr Museum).