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Erice
Then there's Trapani far below. Called Drepanon, scythe, in the past, for the perfectly-shaped harbour (said to have been dropped by the distraught Demeter, when searching for her daughter Persephone), Trapani was the emporium of ancient Erice; it is now a large and busy city, the centre of the sea-salt industry which dates back to the days of the Phoenicians. The old centre is largely unspoilt, but is little visited by tourists. In the modern part of town is the Santuario dell'Annunziata (open 9-12 & 4-7), once an isolated church outside the city limits, now an 18th-century building with some surviving medieval chapels. Here you will find the lovely, much venerated Madonna di Trapani, a 14th-century marble statue from Pisa, perhaps the work of the influential master Nino Pisano himself. Close by, at 200 Via Conte Pepoli, is the Museo Pepoli, with a superb collection of the work of local craftsmen from the 17th-19th centuries, in wax, alabaster, and especially the unique blood-red local coral. To top of page |
Built
entirely of grey limestone, and perfectly triangular in shape,
Erice stands on the wind-blown, misty summit of Mount San Giuliano, a perfect
example of a walled medieval city. It was the Elymian Eryx, famous throughout
the Mediterranean for its temple dedicated to Astarte, goddess of fertility,
and known to the Romans as Venus Erycina; the Castello di Venere (open 9-1),
with views as far as Mt Etna, now stands on the spot. Mossy churches, inscrutable
convents, and surprising hidden courtyards with pots of basil and geraniums;
the silent, cobbled streets are filled with wafting aromas of vanilla, cinnamon
and toasted almonds from the confectioneries.