Images in this gallery are from the medieval town of Erice, situated in western Sicily in the province of Trapani.
Erice is wonderfully positioned crowning the triangular summit of Monte San Giuliano, 751 metres above Trapani and with great panoramic views of the Medisea and the imposing towering and pyramid shaped limestone peak of Monte Cofano.
Erice is one Italy's prettiest medieval villages and would not look out of place somewhere in Tuscany or Umbria. The...
more »Images in this gallery are from the medieval town of Erice, situated in western Sicily in the province of Trapani.
Erice is wonderfully positioned crowning the triangular summit of Monte San Giuliano, 751 metres above Trapani and with great panoramic views of the Medisea and the imposing towering and pyramid shaped limestone peak of Monte Cofano.
Erice is one Italy's prettiest medieval villages and would not look out of place somewhere in Tuscany or Umbria. The walled town is a maze of narrow twisting medieval paved streets that lead to small squares, grey stone houses (dating from 14th to 17th centuries) with ornate doorways and hidden flowery courtyards, former palazzos and numerous historical gothic churches and castles.
In ancient times it was famous all over the Mediterranean for its Temple of Venus Erycina, goddess of fertility. It is said that the Temple was so large that is served as a beacon to sailors at sea. The Norman ruler Roger I, ordered the completed destruction of the temple in the 11th century.
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