Marsala Marsala, beginning the process of Italian unification. On 11 May 1943, in the lead-up to the World War II Allied invasion of Sicily, an Allied bombardment of the town permanently damaged its Baroque centre and claimed many victims: "Marsala Wiped Off the Map" titled the New York Times on 13 May 1943. The archaeological area of Marsala has been investigated both through excavations and topographic studies. Lilybaeum, the ancient town, took up a rectangular area on Capo Boeo, a low and rocky promontory sloping gently down towards the sea. The urban layout of the town can be dated back to
History of Portuguese wine foreign investments, which brought expansions and upgrades of winemaking technology and know how to Portugal. The Portuguese appellation system of "Denominação de Origem Controlada" (DOC) was also upgraded to be more in line with its French, Italian and Spanish counterparts. The rise of smaller boutique wineries or "quintas" has brought about a revolution in Portuguese wine making. Prior to this, non-fortified Portuguese wines were characterized as being "rustic" and "oxidized". Advancements in better winemaking techniques have allowed producers to make cleaner, softer wines that are more palatable to the international wine market. While historically the Portuguese wine industry was seemingly