The medieval erice

a delicious town

Erice is a small town located on the top of a mountain with the same name, Mount Erice, once known as Mount Saint Giuliano, right above Trapani. Erice shares a similar ancient history as Trapani and Segesta, being it inhabited by the tribe called Elimi. According to the legend, this area was occupied by the refugees coming from the war of Troy, in Greece. Just like Trapani and Segesta, it has mostly been under the influence and dominance of the Carthaginians for most of its ancient history, until the Roman conquest in the III century before Christ. At that time the city was mostly famous for the temple dedicated to Venus, today absorbed by what is called the Castle of Venus, while the city of Erice itself was never mentioned.

Only after the Arabic and Norman conquest of the island, and of the territory of Erice, the city started again to be considered and grew in importance, having a very vast territory assigned to it by the kings. In particular the Normans built a strong castle on top of the ruins of the Temple of Venus, a castle that has then been strategic for all the kings ruling the area until today, when it has become a museum.

The city that we see today is a beautiful medieval style village, preserved during the centuries and not much touched by the bombings of the Second World War. So beautiful as to surpass in fame the main city of Trapani, becoming the major tourist attraction of the area.

Erice is famous for the production of beautiful textiles and marzipan sweets that can be tasted in the world famous pastry shop of Maria Grammatico.