Why visit Erice?
Find out the answer in this article written by our local guide Roberta. As a guide, Roberta often walks the narrow streets of Erice and never stops being amazed by the authenticity and beauty of this medieval town, its traditions, and breathtaking views.
You should stop for a moment, read, and then browse through the alleys of this town in search of your own sensations. Enjoy your reading!
The courtyards of Erice...
Walking through the narrow streets of Erice, it is impossible not to be enchanted by the genuineness of the houses that surround you. The courtyards of this town, built in the Arabic style, invite you to peek through the emerald green and colorful flowers cared for by women of all ages as if they were part of their own family.
...and its stores and workshops
There is a sensation of being in a parallel world, a small medieval village where everything has remained unchanged: the scents, sounds, flavors, even the local stores have preserved ancient customs of no longer existing crafts and expose curious objects which functions are unknown to most. Yet, it is enough to walk in and ask the owners. As keepers of ancient knowledge, they are enthusiastic about explaining how it is possible to realize unique handcraft pieces with these complex tools.
The carpets of Erice represent one of the best examples. The principle of their manufacture is the reuse of small scraps of fabric. I have to admit, I was particularly impressed when in front of a workshop in a tiny little street, I spotted a loom of the same type that the ancient Greeks used in their colonies in Sicily. What an amazement when Francesca, an extraordinary artist who continues the tradition in the small family workshop named after her mother Pina Parisi, showed me how the loom in her hands becomes almost a musical instrument whose harmony creates colorful patterns.
Carpets of handicraft manufacture of "Pina Parisi". Photo by Francesca Vario.
Flavors of Erice
As lunchtime arrives, the village smells like our grandparents kitchen, or at least these are my impressions. A stop at the "Pentolaccia" is a must, here you can taste a plate of couscous Alla Trapanese: a local specialty that combines North African traditions influenced by an all-Sicilian ingredient: fish.
Leave some room for dessert as you cannot skip the traditional pastries from Erice!
Treasures of Erice
Still don't feel like visiting this magical place? The discovery of the village continues: the cathedral, which I love to define as "of cream", hides inside a magnificent decoration of stuccoes, with an exhibition of sacred vestments and objects made with semi-precious stones, using techniques that have reached their excellence in Trapani.
And if the fog covers the top of the mountain? You can always visit the Cordici Museum (here you can find the timetable and costs), named after the famous scholar who in the seventeenth century dedicated himself to the collecting and to a meticulous reconstruction of the history of his city through the comparative study of historical sources and archaeological evidence. It will be like walking through time with every step: from its origins as the foundation of an ancient tribal called the Elymians, whose myth sets the origin in the ancient city of Troy, to the magnificent art of the famous Renaissance artist Antonello Gagini, of whom the museum houses a beautiful "Annunciation" made of white and shiny marble.
The walk will take us to the very end of the town, where the majestic Balio stands, a medieval castle built on the ruins of an ancient temple in honor of Venus: a heritage of ancient cults related to Mother Earth and legends.
And here the visit ends, with a breathtaking sunset in front of our eyes: a blazing sun that plunges into the beautiful sea of the Egadi Islands.
