| Erice | ||
 | ||
| State | Italy | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Sicily | |
| Territory | Trapanese | |
| Altitude | 751 m a.s.l. | |
| Inhabitants | 28 463 (2011) | |
| Prefix tel | 39 0923 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 91016 | |
| Time zone | UTC 1 | |
| Patron | Madonna of Custonaci | |
Position
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| Institutional website | ||
Erice is a city of Sicilywestern, a few kilometers from Trapani.
To know
It is part of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
Geographical notes
The heart of the municipality is the capital which rises on the homonymous "mountain". It was once one of the largest municipalities in Sicily, in fact it included territories very distant from the capital such as Custonaci is San Vito Lo Capo.
Background
According to Thucydides, Erice (Eryx, Έρυξ in ancient Greek) was founded by the Trojan exiles, who fleeing to the Mediterranean Sea would have found the ideal place to settle there. Subsequently, the Trojans united with the indigenous population would then give life to the Elimi people.After the French conquest in 244 BC. the city was disputed by Syracusans and Carthaginians.
During the First Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hamilcar he ordered the fortification, and from here he defended Lilibeo. Later he transferred part of the Erice for the foundation of Drepanon, today Trapani.
During the period of Arab domination the city remained uninhabited only to be repopulated in 1167 by the Normans who, with the construction of civil and religious buildings, transformed it into one of the main state-owned cities of the Kingdom of Sicily.
Erice experienced another period of rebirth during the War of the Vespers, becoming the fortress from which the war actions of Frederick of Aragon, king of Sicily until 1337, sprang.
How to orient yourself
Erice: full screen map.Fractions
- Ballad
- Holy house
- Crucifixel
- Napola
- Pizzolungo
- Rigaletta
- San Cusumano
- Turret
How to get
By plane
- Trapani-Birgi airport (Vincenzo Florio Airport) - National and European flights operate from and to Trapani Birgi, both scheduled and low cost. Seasonal tourist flights in the summer.
- Palermo-Punta Raisi Airport (Falcone and Borsellino Airport) - The airport operates national and international flights, and various connections low cost. Numerous periodic tourist flights in summer e charter.
On the train
Trapani is connected to the city through the Erice cableway, inaugurated in 2005 to coincide with the America's Cup.
How to get around
What see
- 1 Cyclopean walls. Dating back to the Elymian-Phoenician-Punic period - VIII / VII century BC
- 2 Norman castle (o Castle of Venus), ☎ 39 3666712832.
The full ticket costs € 3.00, reduced € 1.5. 
Open every day from 10 to 16, in the summer until 19. Built in the 12th century on the remains of the Roman temple dedicated to Venus Ericina - 3 Balio Castle and Towers. of medieval origin
- 4 Balio Garden.
- 5 "Antonio Cordici" museum complex.
- 6 Cathedral of the Assumption (mother church).
- 7 Church of San Pietro (seat of the Ettore Majorana center).
- 8 Church of San Giuliano.
- 9 municipal building (former Palazzo Giuratorio), Piazza Umberto I. in the same building there is also the "Antonio Cordici" Civic Museum
- 10 Commemorative stele Massacre of Pizzolungo (Park of memory), via Enea, Pizzolungo. In this place, on April 2, 1985, a car bomb caused the death of a woman and her two twin children, tearing their bodies apart. The bomb had been placed by the mafia to kill the magistrate Carlo Palermo who, by chance, saved himself together with the escort agents because the woman's car accidentally served as a shield.
The full ticket costs € 3.00, reduced € 1.5. 
Open every day from 10 to 16, in the summer until 19. Built in the 12th century on the remains of the Roman temple dedicated to Venus Ericina
Events and parties
The Sacred Mysteries of Good Friday.
What to do
Shopping
- Erice carpet - Typical product of Erice's handicraft is the carpet called Erice. It has the particularity of being the result of the work of skilled female hands who weave scraps of fabric, implementing an effective work of recycling, obtaining original and colorful geometric designs. In reality, the center of major production of carpets is Buseto Palizzolo, a town in the district. There are also numerous typical handicraft shops in Erice that market them.
- Pastry Maria Grammatico, Via Vittorio Emanuele, 14, ☎ 39 0923869390. 08.00 - 20.00. Pastry shop opened by Maria Grammatico in 1964 with the supply of only 3 kg of bitter almonds. Now known throughout Sicily especially for its "Genoese" and almond pastries. The production can be removed or consumed on site.
How to have fun
Where to eat
Where stay
Safety
How to keep in touch
Around
- San Vito Lo Capo is Scopello, seaside towns at either end of the Riserva dello Zingaro
- Nature reserve oriented "Stagnone of Marsala Islands" - The reserve includes the islands just north of Marsala including the Punic archaeological site of Motya and the adjoining salt flats.
