Walking through the narrow streets of Erice, it is impossible not to be enchanted by the beauty of this medieval village, its traditions, breathtaking views, and low stone houses. Erice transports you to a forgotten world, a small medieval town where everything has remained unchanged. Here, smells, sounds, and flavors flow out of stores, real treasure chests of crafts that have disappeared elsewhere.
Yet, it is enough to walk in and ask the shop owners, keepers of ancient knowledge, how these unique handcraft pieces are made, getting into a detailed and interesting discussion about the complex tools that locals have been using for hundreds of years.
The carpets of Erice represent one of the best examples of this handcraft skill. The principle of their manufacture is to reuse small scraps of fabric. In the hands of skilled weavers, these become small decorative objects with geometries and colors typical of the Sicilian artistic and architectural tradition. You will be impressed when you spot a loom identical to the ones the ancient Greeks used. What an amazement when these artisans, heirs of a long family tradition, show how the loom becomes almost a musical instrument with harmonies that create colorful patterns.
Similar textures and colors we find in the ceramics produced in Erice's small workshops, most often family-run. Here, clay is shaped into the Sicilian traditional forms and then patiently painted using techniques inherited from a past that comes alive today.
While walking around Erice discovering its artisan crafts, we cannot miss a delicious stop in one of its pastry shops. Here, smells and tastes have been preserved in time under the custody of tireless ladies, that proudly keep alive an ancient pastry tradition from the monasteries of San Carlo and Santa Teresa. Almonds, honey, ricotta, cedar, and figs turn into delicious cookies, "mustazzoli" and "genovesi" that decorate the windows of these little jewelries of taste!
