Erice is one of the most beautiful and famous places in Sicily. Perched on a mountain offers a beautiful view and many places to visit.

Of ancient origins, Erice located 751 m above sea level, seems to have been founded by the Elimi, a people probably from Greece and settled in western Sicily around the eighth century. a.c.

Religious center of fundamental interest for the presence of the sacred thémenos, the pagan shrine dedicated to the goddess of love, was, for the strategic importance goal and goal of conquest of other peoples such as the Carthaginians who strengthened the city walls built by the Elymians and made the city virtually inaccessible and impregnable, so much so that with Syracuse and Enna, as handed down Strabo (VII century B.C.)Iruka became one of the three most important military strongholds in Sicily. The walls were widened by the Punics as the results of the archaeological excavations conducted by the Freie Universitat of Berlin that identified the ancient city near the Tourist Village.

Erice took over time several denominations: Erix, Iruka, Gabel-el-Hamid, Monte San Giuliano and Erice. Named Gabel-el-Hamid by the Arabs, with the Norman conquest Erice rises again. Described with great emphasis by the Arab geographers Edrisi (1100-1166) and then Ibn Gubayr (1145-1217) as an area rich in water - Giubayr speaks of 400 springs - again changes its name: it will become Monte San Giuliano (St. Julian the Hospitaller, protector of sailors and travelers) on the order of King Roger II, as thanks for the help given by San Giuliano to the Norman troops, on the occasion of the victorious siege and the consequent liberation of Erice, within whose walls the Arabs had encamped themselves. Endowed by Frederick II of Swabia with a privilege of 1241 of a vast territory, for the loyalty to the royal crown was called Excelsa et Fedelissima Civitas.

In 1936, it finally adopted its current name. Castello di Venere Situated on the top of Mount Erice, in an absolutely privileged position, stands the so-called "Castle of Venus". In ancient times, Erice was known for its temple, the sacred thémenos, where the Phoenicians worshipped Astarte, the Aphrodite Greeks and the Romans Venus. Mount Eryx served as a landmark for navigators whose protector Venus soon became. At night, a large fire lit in the sacred area served as a beacon. The fame of Venus Ericina became such that a temple was dedicated to her in Rome and her cult spread throughout the Mediterranean. What remains today of the ancient fortress was the work of the Normans who seem to have reused, for its construction material from the reconstruction of the temple of Venus Erice.

In ancient times the castle was enclosed by towers, advanced fortifications connected by two crenellated curtains and above all by a drawbridge, the same of which is mentioned by the Arab geographer Ibn-Giubayr (XII century). In the Castle lived the major representatives of the royal authority including the Castellan who administered the criminal justice and which counted, among its main tasks, the direction of the prison and the maintenance of the fortress Bajulo which supervised the civil justice as well as the control on the payment of taxes. The area surrounding the castle took the name of "Balio" from the figure of the Bajulo of the kingdom.What remains of the ancient fortress was the work of the Normans.

Inside were found - and, unfortunately, lost - architectural elements to support the historical path, essentially referring to the medieval reconstruction of the fortress, in which fragments of the ancient sanctuary were reused, and the rebuilding of the temple in Roman times. Adjacent to the towers, the Balio, beautiful English garden from where you can enjoy a unique view: on one side the coast that starting from the Gulf of Trapani from the particular sickle shape, continues to meet Mount Cofano, behind which you can see the tip of S. Vito lo Capo. On the other hand a picturesque landscape where visitors show the wonder of the port of Trapani and its salt pans, the Egadi islands, the island of Mozia up to Mazara del Vallo and at the bottom, in days of particular visibility, you can see Cape Bon, giving the observer an extraordinary sensation of ideal connection with the African coast. Polo Museale A. Cordici Named after "Antonio Cordici", it was established in 1876. Some archaeological finds belonging to different private collections converged there. Since 2015 it has been permanently moved to the new suitable and functional spaces of the former Convent of the Franciscan Friars Minor and is divided into archaeological, historical-artistic, weapons and contemporary art sections.

Inside a space for temporary exhibitions. Pepoli Tower Lighthouse of Peace of the Mediterranean Just below the three Towers then, Count Agostino Pepoli, (1848-1911) scholar, lover of beauty and patron around 1870 built a "tower", silent refuge for his meditations, ideal meeting place, in those years, of men of culture, artists and such as the scholar Ugo Antonio Amico, the musicologist Alberto Favara, the archaeologist Antonino Salinas, the minister Nunzio Nasi and others. Recently inaugurated, today the Tower, after a skilful restoration work is returned to the international community and to the public tourist-cultural enjoyment, as a permanent Observatory of Peace and Lighthouse of the Mediterranean. In the seventeenth century, with the Spanish domination in Sicily, there was the obligation of the so-called "posed" and that is the binding commitment for all the cities to offer free food and accommodation to the soldiers of the garrison to garrison them. Erice and its inhabitants also had to submit to this obligation. To overcome this age-old problem, the Jurors of the city applied to the viceregal government, obtaining permission, to build at their own expense a fort, behind the church of San Antonio, which was used to accommodate the military. The people of Erice taxed themselves, pouring an extraction tax of two years a year for corpse, for six consecutive years and finally began the construction of the "Spanish Quarter". The works were entrusted in 1627 to Erice Marco Antonio Vultaggio who won the contract and accepted the constraints of the mythical specifications.

In 1632 the work for the construction was abruptly interrupted and never resumed, because in the meantime our contractor had ended up in the jails for defrauding the University of Erice. The Quarter, from that moment was completely abandoned to its fate and the Spanish soldiers welcomed in the Norman Castle. Around 2005, the Fortress underwent a significant restoration. Today it is home to the ethnoanthropological section of the Museum Centre "A. Cordici".

The Chiesa Madre Prospiciente alle mura Elimo-puniche, the mother church of Erice, dedicated to Maria SS.ma of Custonaci, arose in the first half of the fourteenth century at the behest of King Frederick of Aragon who took refuge for some time in Erice during the War of Vespers (1314). The quadrangular bell tower with mullioned windows is slightly anterior and has original functions as a sighting tower. The exterior of the church retains the original Gothic forms. The pronaos with pointed arches is an addition of a century later and the rose window is very recent. In the right wall of the church are embedded the nine crosses from the temple of Venus. After the restoration started after 1856, the church was distorted by the original fourteenth-century form and the ancient construction remained only the two rows of columns that support ogival arches, the plan with three naves and the four side chapels.

Church San Martino Posta in the homonymous square, the church seems to date back to a time before 1339, date of the first document that attests to its presence. the church, Latin cross, has three naves limited by 10 columns toscanische. The old church, Gothic like almost all churches Erice was demolished, rebuilt and expanded several times, starting in 1682, thanks to the prebends and hereditary legacies of rich patricians Erice.

Church San Giuliano Its construction was commissioned, according to tradition, by the Norman Grand Count Ruggero, but in reality it seems to date back to the first centuries of Christianity. It was rebuilt between 1612 and 1615, more imposing and with three naves. In 1927 it was closed due to a collapse and reopened, after almost 80 years, on 26 December 2005.

Convent San Domenico Founded in 1486 by the Dominican preachers, this convent, which was joined to the church of San Michele, was for centuries a center of culture and religious life in Erice. In 1670, as a testimony to the increased spiritual importance, the convent was elevated to a priory. It had, over the centuries several extensions and was finally restored in 1858. The convent, until 1962 housed the elementary schools of Erice and since 1972 is one of the headquarters of the Foundation "Ettore Maiorana" called Institute Blackett-San Domenico.

Chiesa e Convento San Francesco The church and the convent of the Franciscan friars minor date back to 1364 and the bull of foundation was issued in Avignon by Pope Urban V on 22 August 1362. From the 17th century, the convent was enlarged and renovated. The bell tower was erected in 1631 and for it was commissioned by the friars conventual a bell, weighing 25 tons, the largest in Erice, which was paid with savings on food and clothing of the religious. The church was finally closed for worship in 1927 due to the sudden collapse of the central nave. In the '70s it was the subject of a last restoration. Since 1911 the whole convent was the seat of the civic hospital and since 1975, with due changes, is one of the headquarters of the Foundation "Ettore Maiorana" called Institute Wigner-San Francesco .