Mount Eryx, Sicily

Today was another beautiful sunny day, we visited Erice which is located 750 meters above the town of Trapani in Sicily. Erice is very ancient, Virgil compared Mount Eryx (Erice) to Mount Athos in Greece and it is mentioned in the Aeneid as a holy landmark to Venus mother of Aeneas of Troy, the ancestor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty of Rome. The town established some 2800 years ago by the Greeks and Phoenicians who worshipped Goddess Astarte or Aphrodite, the Romans called her Venus daughter of Jupiter, the Catholics transformed it into a cult to the Virgin Mary. An enormous temple to Venus stood on this mountain where the acolytes practiced sacred prostitution. The weather can be unpredictable because the mountain overlooks the Tyrrhenian sea.

With a population of about 28,000, the town features a Royal Cathedral, the first building was apparently built under Emperor Constantine in the 4^th century and the current building was commissioned by Frederick II of Aragon,(Spain) there are also 17 churches all built during the high middle ages about a thousand years ago. It is a small town with tortuous cobbled stones streets, massive defensive walls, two castles, numerous palaces to the aristocratic families who given the limited space must have lived all crammed together, not to mention convents and monasteries of various religious orders like the Benedictines, Franciscans and Dominicans.

Until the 20^th century the town was fairly prosperous but with the changing social and political mores, massive emigration to Canada and USA by thousands of poor Sicilians, hard economic times and ruined aristocrats, Erice went into a period of steep decline. The churches all closed one my one and many were abandoned falling into ruin. Only the Cathedral managed to remain open to worship but it too suffered from neglect due to lack of funds to maintain such an elaborate building. By the year 2000 the economy had once again picked up and the people of Erice decided to band together and seek financing to restore their convent and churches and re-open them to the traveling public. Massive work has been undertaken to save this beautiful village. The churches have undergone a rebirth, being faithfully restored so they could be once again opened to the public. The art work was restored and so was the many homes and other buildings of the small town. By visiting Erice and its churches you buy one price ticket, the proceeds of which goes to continue restoration works.

Erice has several excellent restaurants and the most famous pastry chef in Sicily, Maria Grammatico, we tried her Erice pastries, absolutely wonderful and there is so much variety, you can’t be on a diet in such a shop.

We had a very good lunch at La Pentolaccia, I had red pasta ravioli’s stuffed with ricotta and spinach in a sauce of prosciuto, onions and tomatoes, Will had grilled sausage stuffed with anis seeds and herbs, made just across the street by the local butcher. The red pasta is made using beet juice, the pasta being made on the premises was light and delicious. Given that I was the driver and the road to and from Erice is a 6 km steep road on a cliff zigzagging all the way, I needed all my concentration so I only had water and a coffee. Will enjoyed a nice glass of white wine. You can also take the funicular up the hill from Trapani but you must not be afraid of heights. The view from Erice is breathtaking.

I am very glad Will suggested we go to Erice today, it is on the doorstep of Trapani and well worth the visit. Tonite we return to Cantina Siciliana to try more local Sicilian dishes.