Erice (Italian: [ˈɛːritʃe]; Sicilian: Èrici [ˈɛːɾɪʃɪ]) is acomune (municipality) in theProvince of Trapani,Sicily,Italy. The town’s historic centre occupies the site of the ancient city ofEryx, an important religious and cultural centre in antiquity, long associated with pilgrimage. Erice hosts international scientific and peace initiatives.
Situated on the summit ofMonte Erice, the city retains itsElymian-Punic fortifications and medieval layout and architecture, with few modern interventions. Its elevated position historically offered strategic control over theStrait of Sicily and the western coastline.[3]
Erice is home to theEttore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture, an advanced education and research centre associated with international declarations on scientific responsibility and peace.[4][5] The city’s economy combines conference- and education-related activity with heritage and cultural tourism, alongside agriculture and enotourism in the surrounding area.
The municipality includes both the hilltop centre and a number of modern lower districts along theTyrrhenian coast and contiguous with the provincial capitalTrapani, as well as hamlets in theErice DOC wine-producing foothills. Erice is a member ofI Borghi più belli d'Italia (The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy)[6] and has at times been mentioned in local media as a potential candidate forUNESCO World Heritage Site status.[7][8]
The earliest occupation of the hilltop is debated, but settlement likely began in the early first millennium BCE.[9][10] Under theElymians, who called the siteIruka, the community established fortifications and a sanctuary on the summit.[11][10][12]
With the arrival of thePhoenicians in western Sicily during the early Iron Age (attested by the early 8th century BCE at nearby Motya) and, later,Carthaginian control (from the late 6th century BCE until the Roman annexation in 241 BCE), the settlement developed within a circuit now known as theElymian–Punic walls. Excavations distinguish an Elymian phase and a Punic rebuilding, including squared blocks bearing Punic mason’s marks; the oldest quarter of the city preserves a capillary network of narrow, irregular lanes often interpreted as part of a defensive, escape-oriented layout.[13][14][10][15][16][3]
TheGreeks (attested from the 5th century BCE) andRomans (after the Roman annexation in 241 BCE) called the settlementEryx.[17][18] Within the largely irregular historic street network, Via San Francesco is a notably straight alignment; Caracciolo has interpreted it as evidence of very ancient planning.[3] Excavations and surveys document several ancient construction phases at the sanctuary on the summit.[19][3]
The modern settlement of Erice began in theNorman period, when the summit was re-fortified as the NormanCastle of Venus.[20] In the same centuries the kingdom’s ventures inIfriqiya (1148–1160s) heightened the strategic weight of western Sicily’s heights and sea lanes, with Erice again serving as a defensive stronghold over theStrait of Sicily.[21][22] During this period the town came to be known asMonte San Giuliano (by tradition since the Norman conquest).[23] In later medieval sources it appears as a royal demesne (città demaniale): in 1413 itsuniversitas petitioned for the royal appointment of a captain and castellan, underscoring direct crown control rather than feudal lordship.[24]
The 12th-century travellerIbn Jubayr described abundant springs, cultivated fields, vineyards, and a fortress accessible by a bridge. Monte San Giuliano held an intermediate status in the territorial hierarchy, positioned between acivitas and acasale, and was classified as aterra (land).[3]
The Norman fortress anchored the upper citadel, with theBalio Towers serving as its fortified gateway. A second hub formed around theMother Church, and a third around the Palazzo Giuratorio, seat of thegiurati (sworn civic magistrates). The town’s fabric coalesced around these three nodes, linked by the “Royal Road” (now Via Albertina degli Abati) and the “Great Road” (now Via Vittorio Emanuele II). Wealthy families consolidated plots by combining neighbouring properties.[3]
By the late 13th–14th centuries a parish network and several monastic houses reinforced this layout, further anchoring the three hubs (seeReligious significance).
Early modern and Bourbon period (16th–19th centuries)
From the 1500s Sicily formed part ofHabsburg Spain via theCrown of Aragon, governed as a Spanish viceroyalty.[25][26] In 1713 the island passed to theHouse of Savoy under the Treaty of Utrecht; in 1720 Victor Amadeus II exchanged Sicily for Sardinia, transferring Sicily to theHabsburg monarchy.[27][28] In practice, society remained strongly aristocratic: feudal and ecclesiastical estates dominated landholding and local power well into the modern era, especially in Sicily, where large latifundia and church property were prominent.[29][30]
Within this framework Erice prospered: its population rose from 7,657 in 1584 to about 12,000 by the late 1600s, and the town controlled much of the surrounding countryside. Many palaces and churches date to this period, and the patterned cobbled paving laid with small stones became a defining feature of the historic centre.[3] To meet Spanish billeting obligations (posata), townspeople funded theSpanish Quarter, a barracks begun on the town’s northern edge in the early 17th century and abandoned in 1632, after which troops were housed in the Castle of Venus.[31][32]
In 1734Charles of Bourbon conquered Naples and Sicily; Bourbon rule continued thereafter, and in December 1816 the two kingdoms were formally unified as theKingdom of the Two Sicilies, which lasted until 1860–61.[33][34][35] Bourbon land policies redistributed parts of thedemanio (public lands) throughemphyteusis—long leases that transferred cultivation rights while reserving ultimate ownership—encouraging new rural settlements such asCustonaci andSan Vito Lo Capo. As administrative functions consolidated inTrapani, noble families and residents relocated, and the hilltop town became increasingly depopulated and economically peripheral.[3]
In 1860, during the Sicilian phase of theRisorgimento, Erice supplied volunteers toGiuseppe Garibaldi’s campaign. Local patriotGiuseppe Coppola led the town’s volunteers—"875 men from Erice", as a civic plaque records—and fought at theBattle of Calatafimi before helping expel the Bourbon garrison from Trapani. Among the Ericine fallen was the physicianRocco La Russa Peraino, killed at thePonte dell'Ammiraglio in Palermo on 27 May 1860; both men are commemorated by plaques in Erice.[36][37][38][39] The suppression of monasteries by the Italian state after unification in the late 19th century further altered the town’s institutions and urban fabric.[40]
From the late 19th century Erice entered a new phase of prosperity shaped by the culture ofvilleggiatura—the seasonal retreat of wealthy families to hill towns during the summer. The town’s altitude and cool breezes made it a favoured refuge from the heat of the lowlands, attracting not only residents of Trapani and Palermo but also expatriate Sicilian families from North Africa, including Tunis and Cairo.[3][41]
Institutional life shifted at this time: civic functions moved from the medievalBalio Towers to the newly builtPalazzo Municipale, and a piazza was created in front of it as the town’s modern civic centre.[3] The Balio complex was reimagined as a public garden under the patronage of CountAgostino Sieri Pepoli, who leased the towers in the 1870s, laid out the landscapedBalio Gardens, and constructed the neo-GothicPepoli Turret as a retreat for study and cultural exchange.[42] The turret became a venue for cultural gatherings, hosting writers, scholars, and musicians of the period.[43][44][45]
By the early 20th century, civic cultural infrastructure expanded: theCordici Museum was founded in 1876 and later housed (from 1939) in the upper floors of the town hall, in rooms that had formerly served as the municipal theatre, while theVito Carvini Municipal Library was formed from suppressed convent collections after unification.[46][47]
These decades also marked the beginnings of organised tourism, with the appearance of guesthouses and small hotels catering to seasonal visitors. TheGrand Hotel Igea, opened in 1927–28, attracted figures from Sicilian aristocratic, cultural, business, and political circles, and for many years was a symbol of tourism in Erice. Though the tradition ofvilleggiatura declined in the 20th century with changing patterns of mobility and leisure, the architecture and public spaces of this period remain distinctive features of Erice.[3]
In 1934 the town’s name was officially changed from Monte San Giuliano to Erice. During the Second World War, in 1943, a Luftwaffe operations post associated withZerstörergeschwader 26 andJagdgeschwader 27—units flying from nearbyTrapani–Milo Airport—was positioned on the slopes of Monte Erice until Allied air raids forced its relocation. After the Allied landings in July 1943, elements of the 2nd Battalion,505th Infantry Regiment (U.S. Seventh Army) advanced up Monte Erice; Italian forces occupying the ramparts surrendered after initial exchanges of fire.[48] Erice ended the war largely unscathed, with its historic character intact.
Ettore Majorana's Isidor I. Rabi InstitutePalazzo Sales, branch site of the IIS "Florio" school
The post-war decades brought new accessibility: theTrapani-Erice Cable Car—first opened in 1956 and re-inaugurated on 8 July 2005—made the hilltop readily reachable for day-trippers and routine travel between the lower districts and the historic centre.[49][50][51]
Erice has increasingly articulated an identity centred on science, peace, and intercultural dialogue. In March 2019, the municipality formally joined theCoordinamento Nazionale degli Enti Locali per la Pace e i Diritti Umani (National Coordination of Local Authorities for Peace and Human Rights), signalling an official civic commitment to the promotion of peace and human rights.[62] This theme has also been reflected in the repurposing of the historicPepoli Turret, traditionally a meeting place for intellectuals, which now houses a Peace Observatory described as a “Lighthouse of the Mediterranean”.[63] Local policy documents have further promoted Erice as a “city of science and peace”, framing its modern cultural development around education, research, and initiatives fostering dialogue across the Mediterranean region.[64]
Alongside scientific institutions, Erice has also developed a modern educational role in applied disciplines linked to hospitality and cultural heritage. TheIstituto di Istruzione Superiore Ignazio e Vincenzo Florio (a state hospitality and catering school; IPSEOA “Florio”) openedOfficucina teaching labs at Palazzo Sales (the formerSanta Teresa monastery).[65][66][67] Later the school expanded its facilities in the historic centre, opening boarding facilities (convitto) in the formerSan Carlo monastery and the formerGrand Hotel Igea.[68][69][70]
By the fifth century BCE, the indigenousElymians living on the mountain had a sacred place on the summit.[71][72] Later in the century, in 415 BCE, people from nearbySegesta led Athenian visitors up to see it and showed them silver bowls, ladles and incense burners as proof of wealth.[72] Greek writers in the late fifth century BCE refer to it as “the temple ofAphrodite atEryx”.[72] Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty. “Eryx” is the Greek name for the mountain.
Later Greek writers wove the summit site into their stories. Diodorus Siculus (1st century BCE) recounts a tale that the craftsman Daedalus built a wall on the crag by the temple and even fashioned a golden ram for the goddess at Mount Eryx.[73] Strabo (early 1st century CE) notes the temple’s wide renown and says that in earlier times many attendants had been dedicated there by people from Sicily and from abroad.[74] Together these accounts show how famous the hilltop sanctuary was in Greek writing.
In Roman usage the goddess was calledVenus Erycina (“Venus of Eryx”).[75][76] A Roman coin from 57 BCE shows the sanctuary as a small temple with four front columns, set on a rocky summit within a walled precinct.[77][76] Coin images are not architectural plans, but they suggest how Romans pictured the hilltop shrine.
Rome later founded two public temples in her honour—one on theCapitoline Hill (dedicated 215 BCE) and another outside thePorta Collina on theQuirinal (vowed 184 BCE; dedicated 181 BCE). Both temples used the epithet "Erycina" ("of Eryx").[75][76] The Sicilian sanctuary stayed important: in 25 CE the people ofSegesta asked EmperorTiberius to restore the old temple on the mountain, and he agreed.[78]
From late antiquity onward the old sanctuary declined as the summit was reused. A small church dedicated toSanta Maria della Neve (often rendered “Our Lady of the Snows”) was probably built within the former sacred area during the time of the Norman castle (11th–12th centuries); its ruins are still visible inside theCastle of Venus.[79][80]
From the 13th and 14th centuries, Erice (then known as Monte San Giuliano) saw new churches and monasteries founded with royal and baronial support. The town’s main church, theChiesa Matrice (Chiesa di Maria Santissima Assunta), was built in 1314 underKing Frederick III of Aragon, reportedly reusing material from the ancient temple of Venus Erycina.[81] Baronial families backed new monasteries and churches. TheChiaramonte family are linked with theSantissimo Salvatore Benedictine house, set up in their former palace around 1290; theVentimiglia family backed theSpirito Santo (San Francesco) convent, authorised by a papal bull ofPope Urban V in the 1360s.[82][83][84] The pope also issued an edict at Avignon in 1365 to found the nearbySan Pietro church.[3]
Erice is linked in Carmelite tradition with several figures. BlessedLuigi Rabatà (1443–1490) is generally said to have been born at the site of the Church ofSant'Isidoro.[85][86] Nineteenth-century local historians also report that the palace later adapted as theSpirito Santo convent was traditionally considered the birthplace ofSaint Albert of Trapani.[87][88] Modern Carmelite scholarship, however, generally places Albert’s birth in Trapani rather than Erice.[89][90]
By the 1730s, Erice had at least thirty churches, along with six convents and three monasteries.[91] Municipal “riveli” (tax censuses) from 1836–1839 record 204 declarations; clergy were the largest single group among registrants—38 priests, 6 parish priests, 6 canons, an archpriest, a friar, a vicar, 3 clerics and 3 nuns—and many two-storey “solerate” houses are listed as residences with rooms that often included a small domestic chapel.[3]
Erice remains a religious destination. The Diocese of Trapani has renovated and reopened churches as part of the projectErice – la Montagna del Signore (Mountain of the Lord), which aims both to conserve and restore the town’s church heritage and to keep the churches open longer “for the faithful and for visitors”.[92] The churches are presented together as a “museo diffuso” (a distributed museum) and are open to visits on a ticketed schedule.[93][94]
Pilgrimage today often focuses on the Sant’Anna shrine on the lower slopes of the mountain. The footpath known as theSentiero di Sant’Anna climbs from the valley cable car station up to the Santuario di Sant’Anna and on to Porta Trapani at the town gate; diocesan groups sometimes organise pilgrimages along these paths.[95][96][97][98] Near the summit, the woodland below the Castle of Venus (Bosco dei Runzi) is being restored and signed as part of the municipalBosco Sacro (Sacred Wood) project, reopening paths around the historic core; it is a municipal green belt rather than a distinct pilgrimage site.[99][100]
Erice’s continuing religious prominence was underscored by a pastoral visit fromPope John Paul II during his Sicilian journey in May 1993, when he visited the town and met with the local community and participants at theEttore Majorana Centre.[101]
In theBalio Gardens, the “Venus and the Bee” fountain (dated 1933) nods to the old cult in modern form.[102][103] At the town'sCordici Museum (Museo Archeologico Storico-Artistico “Antonino Cordici”), an immersive video installation titledVenere Ericina tells the story of the ancient Erice cult to a generative fertility divinity—identified by the Romans as Venus—dating back to the Elymian period and continued by later colonisers; the projections cover the room’s walls and floor.[104]
In the 1400s Erice had a substantial Jewish community that helped drive the town’s growth. There were artisans such as blacksmiths, cotton workers and leather tanners, along with doctors and goldsmiths; together their work made the community largely self-sufficient in everyday goods.[3] The Jewish quarter (giudecca) lay mainly between the parish church ofSant’Antonio Abate and theSpanish Quarter, extending east toward the “Fontanella” and down to a long-vanished stretch of the old town wall.[3]
In 1492, following the expulsion ordered byFerdinand the Catholic, the quarter was largely abandoned and fell into ruin as families left or converted.[3][105] The small churchMadonna di Custonaci was formerly a synagogue before its conversion to a chapel, a fact once attested by a plaque that has since been lost.[106]
Erice is located approximately 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the regional capital,Palermo. Its historic centre sits at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,460 ft) atop Monte Erice, while the wider comune extends to the coastline, encompassing a varied topography of mountainous, hilly, and coastal terrain.
In 2025,WWF Italy and theItalian Alpine Club (CAI) proposed the creation of a national park—theParco Nazionale delle Isole Egadi e del Litorale Trapanese—that would extend along the Trapani coastline to include the coastal strip of Erice.[107][108]
An infographic showing the different districts that make up the comune of Erice, Sicily
The comune comprises 12 officially recognisedfrazioni (hamlets or districts): Adragna, Baglio Rizzo, Ballata, Casa Santa, Crocefissello, Lenzi, Napola, Pizzolungo, Rigaletta, San Cusumano, Specchia, and Torretta.[109] Historically, the municipal territory also included neighbouring towns such as Valderice and San Vito Lo Capo, but its present boundaries were finalised in 1955.
Until the mid-20th century, Erice’s territory was primarily rural, with an economy based on agriculture, grazing, and scattered farm settlements. From the 1950s onward, rapid and largely unregulated urban expansion reshaped the lower districts. Casa Santa emerged as the municipality’s administrative and commercial hub, while the historic centre transitioned into a centre for tourism.[3]
Casa Santa contains the majority of the municipality’s population — with over 21,000 residents — and hosts most of Erice’s public infrastructure, including the main hospital, key sports facilities, the university campus, and the San Giuliano beachfront, with its beach clubs and associated hotels and tourist services.[110] To the south-west, its built-up area is continuous with that of neighbouring Trapani, forming a single urban agglomeration across the municipal boundary.[111]
Erice experiences aMediterranean climate, with heat moderated by its elevation.[112] Summers are warm and dry, while winters are cool and wetter. The hilltop location of Erice results in more frequent fog and lower average temperatures than the coastal areas, contributing to a microclimate distinct from nearby Trapani.
Much of the area around the historic centre is wooded with Mediterranean species such asAleppo pine (Pinus halepensis), holm oak (Quercus ilex), andcypress, interspersed with underbrush of myrtle, heather, and broom. Two particularly notable green spaces include the Sacro Bosco—a semi-natural sacred grove with mythological and monastic associations—and the Bosco dei Runzi, a forested area on the northeastern slope known for its biodiversity and shaded walking trails.[113]
The economy of Erice is increasingly driven by tourism, supported by heritage investment and conference activity, alongside traditional agriculture centred on wine and olive production.
Tourism in Erice has grown significantly in recent years. A 2025 study by the Centro Studi Conflavoro projected a 25.7% increase in summer visitors compared with 2024, reflecting a wider resurgence of tourism in Italian hill towns and rural borghi. The study attributed Erice’s rising popularity to its elevated location, offering cooler summer temperatures, together with its medieval townscape, panoramic views, and appeal to visitors seeking authentic and climate-tempered destinations.[114]
Erice's San Giuliano beach at sunset.
The town’s tourism offering is supported by strong transport connections and a diversified visitor landscape. Erice lies close toTrapani–Birgi Airport, thePort of Trapani and regional connections viaTrapani railway station, while theTrapani–Erice Cable Car provides a direct connection between the coastal districts and the historic hilltop centre. In addition to heritage tourism, the town has a 1 km stretch of sandy beachfront along the Tyrrhenian coast and a surrounding countryside that forms part of theErice DOC wine-producing region. Food and wine experiences, rural trails and walking routes across theMonte Erice area have contributed to the development of slower and experiential forms of tourism alongside traditional sightseeing.[115][116]
Public and institutional investment in Erice has focused on conservation within the historic centre alongside the expansion of sports, leisure and beachfront facilities. Major projects have included the restoration of theElymian-Punic Walls of Erice[117] and theBalio Gardens[118], programmes for the conservation of religious buildings[119], and improved accessibility within the medieval townscape[120]. In the lower districts, investment has supported the development of a cycling park, accessible beachfront infrastructure and new recreational facilities.[121][122] These include the Giardino dello Sport, a 35,000 m² seafront sports complex featuring a multi-purpose indoor hall, outdoor courts and pitches for team and racket sports, fitness areas and full visitor amenities.[123][124]
Erice also functions as a centre for conferences and specialist meetings, anchored by the facilities of theEttore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture. The foundation operates multiple restored historic buildings across the town, including theBlackett Institute, which houses a large auditorium and lecture halls, alongside additional meeting spaces in former convents and palaces.[125][126] Broader conferencing infrastructure includes venues such as the Palazzo Sales conference hall[127], which regularly hosts cultural heritage and environmental forums, and the historicTeatro Gebel Hamed, used for performances, lectures and large public events. Purpose-built demonstration kitchens support hospitality training in the historic centre and provide a venue for public cooking demonstrations.[128]
Erice’s historic setting, panoramic views, and association with the ancient sanctuary dedicated to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, have contributed to the development of wedding tourism as part of the local economy. Civil ceremonies are conducted by the municipality at designated venues, including theCastle of Venus.[129] The town is supported by a substantial hospitality sector, with hotels, guesthouses and other accommodation facilities recorded in regional tourism statistics,[130] alongside restaurants and catering services serving both visitors and event-related tourism.
While tourism now represents a major economic sector, agriculture has historically played a central role in the economy of Erice and continues to shape the surrounding landscape. The Arab traveller and geographerIbn Jubayr, writing in the late 12th century during the reign ofWilliam II of Sicily, noted the presence of vineyards and cultivated fields on the mountain slopes surrounding the fortified town then known as Monte San Giuliano.[3] In the modern era, agricultural activity has become increasingly structured around quality production systems, particularly viticulture and olive growing, forming an important component of the rural economy of the comune.
Modern viticulture in the Erice area is regulated under theErice DOC designation, established in 2004 as part of broader efforts to promote quality wine production in western Sicily. The Erice DOC forms part of the widerVal di Mazara wine region, a viticultural zone covering much of the island’s western half that includes several major appellations and has historically been associated with large-scale production, followed in recent decades by a transition toward higher-value, quality-focused winemaking.[131][132] The Erice DOC permits the cultivation of both indigenous grape varieties, including Nero d’Avola and Grillo, and international varieties such as Syrah and Chardonnay, reflecting contemporary diversification within Sicilian viticulture.[133]
Alongside viticulture, olive cultivation remains a widespread agricultural activity in the Erice area, particularly on the lower slopes and plains surrounding the historic town. Local producers primarily cultivate traditional Sicilian varieties such asNocellara del Belice and Cerasuola, which are well adapted to the region’s dry summer climate and contribute to the production of high-quality extra virgin olive oil.[134] Olive growing, together with smaller-scale cultivation of almonds, figs and cereals, continues to form an important component of the rural economy of the comune.
Since the late 20th century, agricultural enterprises in the Erice area have increasingly diversified their activities beyond primary production. In Sicily more broadly, agritourism and enotourism are recognised components of rural development policies that encourage farms to combine agricultural production with tourism services, including tastings, educational visits and accommodation.[135] Academic research identifies diversification of Sicilian farms into tourism-related activities as a sustainable rural development pathway, particularly in western Sicily’s viticultural areas.[136][137]
Key public facilities that serve both Erice and Trapani are located in the lower district of Casa Santa. These include theSant'Antonio Abate Hospital, theStadio Polisportivo Provinciale, and the Polo Territoriale Universitario di Trapani, a satellite campus of the University of Palermo.[138][139]
Elymian-Punic Walls: Ancient fortifications that once protected Eryx. They are considered among the most significant surviving examples of early Mediterranean defensive architecture, incorporating Elymian, Punic, and medieval construction phases.[10]
Castle of Venus: A Norman-era fortress built on the site of an ancient sanctuary dedicated to Venus Erycina, a Roman adaptation of the Greek goddessAphrodite. The area has been associated with religious activity since antiquity and features archaeological remains from Elymian, Roman, and medieval periods.[140]
Cordici Museum: A civic museum housed in a former Franciscan convent, founded in 1876 to conserve artworks and archaeological finds from suppressed religious institutions and local collections. Its holdings include Elymian and Roman artifacts, sacred art, ethnographic objects, and Garibaldian-era weapons.[141]
Balio Towers: A group of medieval towers that served both defensive and administrative functions following theNorman conquest of southern Italy. They were the residence of the Bajulo, a royal official responsible for civil justice and taxation, and formed a gateway to the Castle of Venus.[3]
Pepoli Turret: A neo-Gothic retreat built between 1872 and 1880 by Count AgostinoPepoli as a place for study and cultural gatherings. Situated on a rocky outcrop east of the Balio Gardens, it blends medieval, Moorish, and Liberty architectural elements. Restored in 2014, it now serves as a multimedia museum and the “Observatory of Peace and Lighthouse of the Mediterranean”.[142]
Balio Gardens: Public gardens created in the 19th century by Count Agostino Pepoli on former grazing land adjacent to the Balio Towers. The gardens feature Mediterranean and exotic plantings, fountains, monuments, and viewpoints over Trapani and the surrounding coastline.
Eugene P. Wigner Institute: A historically significant former convent turned conference venue that also hosts art exhibitions and cloister performances.[143]
Erice is accessible by road from Trapani, connected via SP31 and SP3. The A29 motorway provides onward links to Palermo to the east.
Air travel is served by two nearby airports:Vincenzo Florio Airport (Trapani–Birgi), located about 29 km (18 mi) south of Erice, andFalcone–Borsellino Airport (Palermo), approximately 90 km (56 mi) away.[144][145] A new railway station at Trapani-Birgi Airport, part of a broader €13 billion in Sicilian rail infrastructure funded by Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan, will connect the airport toTrapani railway station and Palermo via the restored and electrified Palermo–Trapani line.[146]
TheTrapani–Erice Cable Car is a regular service that connects the lower district of Casa Santa to the historic centre.[147] While this has improved vertical mobility, broader accessibility challenges persist in Erice’s historic centre. Steep gradients, narrow streets, and uneven paving limit access for people with disabilities, and recent efforts—such as the limited introduction of electric vehicles—reflect the complex balance between conservation priorities and inclusive design.[120]
Bus transport between Erice and Trapani is fully integrated, with metropolitan routes providing continuous service across both municipalities. These services include connections to Trapani-Birgi Airport and Palermo.[148]
The redevelopment of the cruise terminal and island ferry facilities at thePort of Trapani—closely linked to the tourism economy of Erice’s historic centre—improves access for passengers arriving via theAegadian Islands and Mediterranean cruise routes.[149][150][151]
From the 18th century onward, Erice has attracted artists, writers, and travellers, becoming a recurring subject in European art and travel literature. Today the town maintains a cultural life that combines historic religious traditions, festivals, gastronomy, and an active programme of artistic and musical events linked to its convent history and historic spaces.
Misteri di Erice – Held annually on Good Friday, this solemn procession re-enacts the Passion of Christ through a series of sculptural tableaux known as the Misteri that are carried through the streets of Erice by members of local guilds in traditional costume. The procession begins at the Church ofSan Giuliano, where the groups of sculptures are displayed before the ritual begins.[152]
Festa di Maria Santissima di Custonaci – Celebrated annually in late August, this festival honours Erice's patron saint, Maria Santissima di Custonaci. A highlight of the festivities is the"Consegna delle Chiavi d'Oro" (Presentation of the Golden Keys), during which the mayor symbolically entrusts the city's keys to the Madonna, followed by a procession through the historic centre involving local officials and representatives from neighbouring municipalities.[153]
EricèNatale – During the winter holiday season, the town hosts a Christmas market, nativity displays, concerts, and lights the town with Christmas decorations and pine trees. This is followed at New Year with live performances in Piazza della Loggia and fireworks at midnight.[154][155]
Ericestate – Erice’s official summer cultural programme, held annually between June and September. Organised by the Comune di Erice, it features a broad calendar of events including concerts, theatre performances, art exhibitions, children’s activities, and food-and-wine initiatives. Events are staged across various venues in both the historic centre and the modern districts, including theTeatro Gebel Hamed, with the aim of promoting cultural participation and supporting tourism in the region.[156]
Festa FedEricina – A three-day medieval-themed festival held annually in September, dedicated toKing Frederick III. Organised by the Gruppo MedievaleMonteSanGiuliano – Erice with support from the Comune di Erice, it features historical parades, falconry displays, themed villages, and medieval banquets. The event attracts historical reenactment groups from across Sicily and abroad, and was first launched in 2015. The festival has been officially registered by the Central Institute for Intangible Heritage of the Italian Ministry of Culture as part of the national mapping of historical reenactments.[157][158][159]
Erice’s gastronomy reflects both a long-established local food culture rooted in convent traditions and agricultural production, and an internationally recognised contribution to the development of modern scientific approaches to cooking.
A molecular gastronomy dessert served with liquid nitrogen
In 1992, Erice hosted a series of workshops co-directed by physicistNicholas Kurti and chemistHervé This, which brought together scientists and professional chefs to study the physical and chemical processes underlying cooking practices, laying the foundations for the emergence ofmolecular gastronomy. The scientific approach developed in Erice was later adopted and popularised by chefs such asFerran Adrià andHeston Blumenthal.[160][161][162]
The town also hosts public culinary demonstrations and masterclasses, these have included ones by American television chefMarc Murphy, Michelin-starred chef Giuseppe Costa, and television chef Fabio Potenzano; as well as chocolate masterclass with Belgian chefs Stijn Van Kerckhoven and Gilles Discart.[163][164][165][166] These take place in purpose-built culinary laboratories calledOfficucina —professional teaching kitchens designed for food innovation projects and hands-on training in Erice's historic centre.[167]
Traditional foods of Erice reflect the town’s convent heritage and surrounding agricultural landscape, several of which are officially recognised asProdotti agroalimentari tradizionali (P.A.T.) of Sicily.[168] Local specialities include:
Mufuletta, a soft round semolina bun often scented with fennel seeds and eaten warm on 11 November (St Martin’s Day); local tradition links it to medieval soldiers and the first tasting of the new wine.[170]
Erice retains a pastry tradition centred on the formerSan Carlo monastery; local patisseries continue the town’s almond-based recipes. Among its exponents is pastry chefMaria Grammatico, who learned in the monastery and offers short public pastry classes at her ownScuola di Arte Culinaria in the old town.[171][172]
Borgo diVino in Tour stages an annual tasting weekend in the historic centre—typically in late August—featuring local and national wineries, street food, and live performances across venues such as Piazza della Loggia and Piazza San Giuliano.[173][174]
Erice has featured in literary and historical writing since antiquity, when the ancient city of Eryx and its hilltop sanctuary were described by Greek and Roman authors.[73][74] Later, the town attracted the attention of European travellers and authors of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Among them wereSir Richard Colt Hoare, who identified the ancient Mons Eryx with Monte San Giuliano inA Classical Tour through Italy and Sicily (1819),[175]George Dennis, who described the site and the Temple of Venus Erycina inA Handbook for Travellers in Sicily (1864),[176] andHenry Swinburne, who referred to the mountain as "Erix, or Monte S. Giuliano" inTravels in the Two Sicilies (1790).[177]
Samuel ButlerHenry Festing Jones
In 1897 the English novelistSamuel Butler argued inThe Authoress of the Odyssey that the poem was written by a young Sicilian woman from Trapani and that several episodes reflect the landscape of western Sicily; he identified Mount Eryx (Monte Erice) and Trapani with key points in Odysseus’s journey.[178][179] Erice commemorates Butler with a street, Via Samuel Butler.[180]
Butler’s friend and literary executorHenry Festing Jones devoted four chapters of his travel bookDiversions in Sicily (1909/1920) to Mount Eryx and Erice ("Monte San Giuliano", "The Madonna and the Personaggi", "The Universal Deluge", "The Return"), recording local customs, processions and the topography looking toward Trapani and the Egadi islands.[181] Jones’s earlier Sicilian collectionCastellinaria and Other Sicilian Diversions (1911) is dedicated to friends "di Monte Erice", reflecting the town’s role in the Anglo-Sicilian circle around Butler and Jones.[182]
Jones’s account includes lively descriptions of Erice’s religious life. In his chapter on Monte San Giuliano, he describes the Festa di Maria Santissima di Custonaci procession of 25 August 1901:
"At 7.30 a brass band began to perambulate the town… at 8.30 the band entered theMatrice, and before Mass the sacred picture was unveiled."[183]
Commemoration of Butler also extended to the surrounding area: Jones notes that, by 1908, a hotel in nearbyCalatafimi bore the name "Albergo Samuel Butler" and that the town kept his memory in a street name.[184]
In contemporary literary culture, the town is associated with thePremio Letterario Città di Erice, a literary prize that continues to promote writing and cultural engagement in the region,[185] and hostsBread Loaf in Sicily, the Sicilian edition of the long-runningBread Loaf Writers' Conference, an international literary workshop held annually in the town offering intensive courses, readings and lectures for writers.[186] In 2024 the town was evoked in theBBC National Short Story Award shortlist, with Will Boast’s "The Barber of Erice" among the five stories selected for broadcast and discussion as part of that year’s award cycle.[187][188]
Erice also honours the Italian writerCarlo Levi (author ofCristo si è fermato a Eboli) with Via Carlo Levi.[180]
Erice has served as a filming location or creative inspiration for several film and television productions:
At War with Love (In guerra per amore, 2016), a World War II romantic comedy directed by Pif (Pierfrancesco Diliberto), was filmed on location in Erice.[189]
La baronessa di Carini (2007), a television miniseries broadcast by RAI, included scenes filmed in Erice.[190]
Màkari (2021–), an Italian crime drama series, features Erice prominently in multiple episodes.[191]
The town inspired sets in the 2018 superhero filmAquaman, starring Jason Momoa; although no scenes were filmed on location, its architecture was digitally recreated after local authorities denied filming permission.[192]
Louise-Joséphine Sarazin de Belmont'sView of the Castello di San Giuliano, near Trapani, Sicily
Erice has been a frequent subject for painters and printmakers from the 18th to the 20th century, and continues to feature in both historical and contemporary artistic contexts.
Jean-Claude Richard, abbé de Saint-Non,Voyage pittoresque ou Description des Royaumes de Naples et de Sicile (Paris, 1781–1786) includes engraved views of Sicilian sites; plates of Monte San Giuliano (Eryx) circulated widely in these volumes.[194][195]
Francesco Lojacono,Monte San Giuliano (c. 1875–1880), a landscape of present-day Erice attributed to Palermo’s Galleria d’Arte Moderna and reproduced on Google Arts & Culture.[196]
Alberto Pisa, colour plates of Monte San Giuliano in the travel bookSicily (London: A. & C. Black, 1911), part of the publisher’s illustrated series. Specific images include “Monte San Giuliano” and related street scenes.[197][198]
Michele Cortegiani,Le mura ciclopiche del Monte Erice (The Cyclopean Walls of Mount Erice, 1891),Palazzo dei Normanni, Palermo — a late-19th-century view of the ancient walls on Monte Erice; the canvas is recorded in the Royal Apartment’sSala dei Paesaggi.[199][200]
Erice preserves significant religious art within its historic convent complexes. TheCasa Santa di San Francesco di Sales contains a complete eighteenth-century fresco cycle illustrating episodes from the writings of Saint Francis de Sales, attributed to the Trapani painterDomenico La Bruna and executed between 1760 and 1762 as a unified decorative scheme covering the walls and vaulted ceiling.[201] The nearbyCordici Museum preserves further examples of local and regional art, including medieval sculpture and paintings from the Renaissance and Baroque periods connected with Erice’s churches and convents.
Erice has also hosted contemporary art through private collections and modern exhibitions in its historic spaces. The town is associated with the La Salerniana Collection, a modern and contemporary art collection established in Erice with a significant cross-section of Italian contemporary art including works by artists such asCarla Accardi,Pietro Consagra andPino Pinelli alongside other figures reflecting post-war artistic developments.[202] Erice has presented exhibitions featuring works byAndy Warhol andMario Schifano in its historic venues, and site-wide installations such asLobsteropolis in Erice by British artistPhilip Colbert.[203][204]
Erice supports a varied programme of live performing arts in historic venues across the town. The cloister of theEugene P. Wigner Institute has hosted major musical events, including the first modern performance ofAlessandro Scarlatti’s baroque operaAmor quando si fugge, allor si trova in 2025, conducted by Claudio Astronio in a production organised by the Mediterranean Music Association with choreography by Emiliano Pellisari and the No Gravity Dance Company.[205] The same venue has also hosted exhibitions connected with operatic culture, includingPuccini sui palcoscenici russi in August 2025, presenting rare archival materials tracing the performance history of operas byGiacomo Puccini on Russian stages.[206]
Live music also plays an important role in the town’s cultural life. Erice is a regular venue for the International Festival of Ancient Music, which brings internationally recognised early-music ensembles and soloists to historic spaces including the Wigner Institute, theCordici Museum and local churches, presenting repertoires ranging from medieval to baroque music.[207] The town also features in regional jazz circuits, hosting concerts by touring ensembles in summer performance programmes.[208]
The historicTeatro Gebel Hamed serves as Erice’s principal theatre and performance venue, staging theatre productions, concerts, dance performances and musical residencies throughout the year. Recent programming has included professional opera-theatre collaborations such asWinterreise – Viaggio d’Inverno, a staged interpretation ofFranz Schubert’s song cycle presented by the Movin’Op company in collaboration with international cultural institutions.[209]
A competitor ascending the course during the 2023 Cronoscalata Monte Erice
ACES Europe (the European Capitals and Cities of Sport Federation) in 2025 officially designated the municipality of Erice as a European City of Sport for 2027.[210]
Erice manages or hosts a range of sporting facilities. The largest is theStadio Polisportivo Provinciale in the Casa Santa district, a 10,000-seat ground that has served as the home stadium forTrapani Calcio.[211] The town also includes the Giardino dello Sport, a 35,000 m² seafront sports park with multiple outdoor courts and pitches and a multi-purpose hall,[212] the Porta Spada gymnasium,[213] the municipal tennis and five-a-side football courts at Viale delle Pinete,[214] and the historic Campo San Nicola football ground.[215] The municipality in 2025 also approved plans for a new multipurpose sports complex in the frazione of Napola, including a rugby and football field, padel courts and other facilities.[216]
The town is represented in national women’s volleyball by Pallavolo Erice, which has competed in Serie A2 and plays its home matches at the PalaShark arena in neighbouring Trapani.[217] Football is played at amateur level on the municipal grounds, while local associations also field teams in tennis, basketball and athletics.
Erice also hosts recurring sporting events, including theCronoscalata Monte Erice, an automobile hillclimb established in 1954 that is among the historic hillclimb races in Italian motorsport and forms part of the national championship calendar,[218] as well as running competitions such as the Erice Trail, a springtime trail-running event held on the slopes of Monte Erice.[219] Cycling events also make use of the coastal cycle path along San Giuliano beach.[220]
Albert of Trapani (c.1240–1307), Carmelite saint. Generally held to have been born in Trapani; several Ericine historians record a local tradition that his family palace in Erice—later adapted as theSpirito Santo (San Francesco) convent—was his birthplace.
Luigi Rabatà (1443–1490), Blessed Carmelite priest; beatified in 1841.
History and civic life
Giuseppe Coppola (1821–1902), Risorgimento patriot who led volunteers from Erice in 1860.
Nunzio Nasi (1850–1935), politician; twice a cabinet minister, later in the Aventine opposition; died in Erice.
Rocco La Russa Peraino (1828–1860), physician and Risorgimento volunteer killed at the Ponte dell’Ammiraglio.
^"Bilancio demografico mensile e popolazione residente" [Monthly demographic balance and resident population].Demo – Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (in Italian). Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (ISTAT). Retrieved15 February 2026.
^"Erice".Enciclopedia dell’Arte Antica (in Italian). Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana (Treccani).
^abcdDe Vincenzo, Salvatore (2015). "The fortification wall of Eryx: A new definition of the settlement's construction phases and topographic development in light of recent excavations."Analysis Archaeologica, vol. 1, pp. 103–116.link
^F. Spatafora, “Sicily,” in The Oxford Handbook of the Phoenician and Punic Mediterranean, ed. C. López-Ruiz & B. R. Doak (Oxford, 2022), overview of Phoenician presence and retreat to the west (Motya, Panormus, Soluntum).
^S. De Vincenzo, Guida archeologica di Erice (Viterbo, 2022), pp. 15–25 (Elymian and Punic phases; Punic mason’s marks).
^J. Lendering, “Eryx,” Livius.org (accessed 2025): notes on Carthaginian stronghold under Hamilcar and loss in 241 BCE.
^Thucydides (1914–1923). "2".History of the Peloponnesian War. Vol. 6. Translated by Charles Forster Smith. Loeb Classical Library.…οἰκοῦσι δὲ καὶ Ἔρυκα καὶ Ἔγεσταν Ἐλύμοι…
^Cicero, M. Tullius (1928). "72–74".In Verrem. Vol. 2.4. Translated by H. Rackham. Loeb Classical Library.…Veneris Erycinae… in aede Vetere Erycine…
^"Castello di Venere".Ministero della Cultura (MiC) (in Italian). 5 May 2022.La fortezza di epoca normanna è cinta da possenti mura collegate tramite un ponte levatoio alle Torri del Balio.
^Abulafia, David (1987). "The Norman Kingdom of Africa".Italy, Sicily and the Mediterranean, 1100–1400. Variorum. pp. 26–49.
^Hernández, Sarah Davis-Secord (2022). "5. The Norman Kingdom of Africa".Dynasties Intertwined: The Zirids of Ifriqiya and the Normans of Sicily. Cornell University Press. pp. 135–165.doi:10.1515/9781501763489-010.ISBN978-1-5017-6348-9.
^"Monte San Giuliano".Enciclopedia Italiana (in Italian). Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana.Il nome attuale rimonta, secondo una pia tradizione, al tempo della conquista normanna.
^Rosciglione, Rosa (2013)."La Sicilia di Ferdinando de Antequera. Il caso delleuniversitates siciliane"(PDF).RiMe. Rivista dell'Istituto di Storia dell'Europa Mediterranea (in Italian).10:419–464. Retrieved21 September 2025.L'universitas di Monte San Giuliano … chiedeva un capitano fedele al re … e come castellano chiedevano l'invio di un catalano… libero da ogni influenza dei feudatari.
^"Kingdom of Aragon".Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved21 September 2025.Thereafter Sicily was governed by viceroys… Aragon became part of Spain in 1479.
^"House of Savoy".Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved21 September 2025.By the Treaty of Utrecht (1713)… ruler of Sicily; in 1720 he exchanged Sicily for Sardinia.
^"Italy: Reform and Enlightenment in the 18th century".Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved21 September 2025.In 1734… Charles… conquered the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily from Austria; earlier, in 1720, Victor Amadeus ceded Sicily to Austria.
^"Italy: The era of Enlightenment reform".Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved21 September 2025.…powerful feudal and ecclesiastical estates that controlled vast land and wealth…
^"Ferdinand I".Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved21 September 2025.…returned to Naples as Ferdinand I of the united kingdom of the Two Sicilies (December 1816).
^Cataldo, Carlo (December 2005)."Epigrafi garibaldine nel Trapanese"(PDF).Centro Internazionale di Studi Risorgimentali Garibaldini (in Italian). Retrieved3 October 2025.
^"Erice – Biblioteca Comunale "Vito Carvini"".BiblioTP – Rete delle Biblioteche della provincia di Trapani (Regione Siciliana) (in Italian). Retrieved21 September 2025.…i libri provenienti dai conventi, chiusi in seguito alla soppressione delle Corporazioni religiose, [furono destinati] a una biblioteca aperta al pubblico… Il nucleo bibliografico originario proviene, dunque, dall'unificazione delle biblioteche dei quattro conventi ericini…
^"Trapani nuova, anno 11, n. 18 (1969)"(PDF).Trapani nuova – Rassegna mensile della Provincia di Trapani (in Italian). Provincia Regionale di Trapani.…Erice. Stazione climatica e turistica di primissimo ordine…
^"Torretta Pepoli".Fondazione Erice Arte (in Italian).La torretta Pepoli … intorno al 1870 la fece edificare all'interno dell'attuale giardino del Balio …
^"Torretta Pepoli".Fondazione Erice Arte (in Italian).…rifugio silenzioso… il conte Pepoli accolse gli uomini di cultura del tempo…
^"Museo "Antonio Cordici"".Comune di Erice (in Italian).…nel 1876… venne istituito ad Erice il museo civico… in seguito, nel 1939, nei piani superiori dello stesso palazzo (in quelli che furono del teatro comunale).
^"Cableway Trapani Erice".Funivia di Erice (official). Retrieved21 September 2025.…covers the way in just 10 minutes…
^"The history of EMFCSC".Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture. Retrieved21 September 2025.…the formal establishment (1962) and the first activity (1963)…
^Zichichi, Antonino, ed. (1978).Understanding the Fundamental Constituents of Matter. The Subnuclear Series. Vol. 14. New York: Springer.doi:10.1007/978-1-4684-0931-4.ISBN978-1-4684-0933-8.Proceedings of the 14th International School of Subnuclear Physics (Erice, 23 July–8 August 1976), which included lectures by S. Weinberg.
^"Attività del 2022 (Activities, 2022)"(PDF).Ettore Majorana Foundation (in Italian). Retrieved21 September 2025.41st Course: Ethics, public offices, and the ethical conduct of office holders
^"2015 NUTRACEUTICALS — Scientific Programme"(PDF). Società Italiana dell’Ipertensione Arteriosa. Retrieved21 September 2025.Talks on Mediterranean diet and health at EMFCSC, Erice
^"The Erice International School of Subnuclear Physics"(PDF).Centro Fermi. Retrieved21 September 2025.…attracted in the eighties the attention of world leaders such as Deng Xiaoping, Gorbachev, Reagan, Pierre Trudeau, Olof Palme and Sandro Pertini.
^Tacitus."Annals 4.43".LacusCurtius. Retrieved19 September 2025.
^"Il Castello di Venere".Fondazione Erice Arte (in Italian). Retrieved19 September 2025.Dopo un lungo periodo di declino… nell'area venne edificata una piccola chiesa dedicata a Santa Maria della Neve, forse in concomitanza con la costruzione del castello da parte dei Normanni (XI–XII sec.).
^"Erice: Il Castello"(PDF).Trapani Nostra (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved19 September 2025.Forse in concomitanza con la costruzione del Castello da parte dei Normanni nell'area venne edificata una piccola chiesa dedicata a Santa Maria della Neve.
^"Chiesa di Maria Santissima Assunta".Conferenza Episcopale Italiana – Chiese Italiane (in Italian). Retrieved19 September 2025.La chiesa fu edificata dal Re Federico III di Aragona nel 1314 con materiale proveniente dal tempio della Venere Ericina.
^"Ruins of the monastery of the SS. Savior".West of Sicily. 18 September 2024. Retrieved19 September 2025.Originally the building was the palace of Count Chiaramonte, who gave it in 1290 to the Benedictine nuns.
^"SS. Salvatore".Erice – La Montagna del Signore (in Italian). 23 May 2023. Retrieved19 September 2025.L'edificio era nel XIII secolo il palazzo della nobile famiglia Chiaramonte. Le monache benedettine vi si insediarono alla fine del 1200.
^"Beato Luigi Rabatà".Santi e Beati (in Italian). Retrieved19 September 2025.Luigi Rabatà nacque a Monte San Giuliano, l'odierna Erice, intorno all'anno 1443.
^"Bl. Aloysius Rabatà, Priest".Order of Carmelites (O.Carm.). Retrieved19 September 2025.Most claim he was born in Erice (Sicily)… Another witness claims his birthplace as Monte S. Giuliano.
^"Albert of Trapani: A Saint of Yesterday for Today".Order of Carmelites (O.Carm.). Retrieved19 September 2025.A tradition confirmed by various documents says that Albert was born in Trapani around the middle of the thirteenth century.
^"Padre Emanuele Boaga, "Sant' Alberto di Trapani""(PDF).Trapani Nostra (PDF) (in Italian). Retrieved19 September 2025.A lungo si è discusso sul suo luogo di nascita se Trapani o Erice, ma… pare sia nato a Trapani.
^Adragna, Vincenzo."Monte San Giuliano: Chiese e clero"(PDF).Trapani Nostra (in Italian). p. 25. Retrieved19 September 2025.«Monte San Giuliano… è decorata da trenta chiese… si divide in quattro parrocchie… la nobilitano sei conventi… l'ornano tre monasteri…»
^"Il Progetto – Erice la Montagna del Signore".Erice la Montagna del Signore (in Italian). Retrieved19 September 2025.…tutela, la conservazione, il restauro e la valorizzazione…; la custodia e una più prolungata apertura delle stesse chiese per favorirne la conoscenza da parte dei fedeli e dei visitatori.
^"Erice – la Montagna del Signore (home)".Erice la Montagna del Signore (in Italian). Retrieved19 September 2025.Il MEMS si caratterizza per la tipologia del "museo diffuso" oppure, in altri termini, di "territorio-museo".
^"Tariffe e Orari".Erice la Montagna del Signore (in Italian). Retrieved19 September 2025.
^abAbbate, Giuseppe; Germanà, Maria Luisa; Savarese, Raffaele; Trapani, Ferdinando (2022). "From Conservation to Revitalization. Ambiguous and Critical Conditions in the Heritage Conservation Experiences of Erice".Conservation of Architectural Heritage. Springer. pp. 239–258.
^"Capacità ricettiva per comune" [Accommodation capacity by municipality].Portale open data della Regione Siciliana (in Italian). Regione Siciliana. Retrieved30 January 2026.
^Nesto, Bill; Di Savino, Frances (2023).The World of Sicilian Wine. University of California Press.
^Deschamps, Lucien C. (2019).Sicilian Wine Regions. Independently published.
^Aronica, Martina; Cracolici, Maria Francesca; Insolda, Debora; Tosi, Salvatore (2021). "The Diversification of Sicilian Farms: A Way to Sustainable Rural Development".Sustainability.
^Scaglione, Aurelio; Mendola, Daria (2017). "Measuring the Perceived Value of Rural Tourism: A Field Survey in the Western Sicilian Agritourism Sector".Quality & Quantity.
^Hoare, Richard Colt (1819).A Classical Tour through Italy and Sicily. London: J. Mawman. p. 342.
^Dennis, George (1864).A Handbook for Travellers in Sicily. London: John Murray. pp. 153, 160.
^Swinburne, Henry (1790).Travels in the Two Sicilies, in the years 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780. Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). London: T. Cadell and P. Elmsly. p. 252.
^Butler, Samuel (1897).The Authoress of the Odyssey. Longmans, Green. Retrieved4 October 2025.All difficulty is removed by supposing that the writer lived at Trapani...
^Jones, Henry Festing (1920)."Diversions in Sicily".Project Gutenberg. Retrieved4 October 2025.Contents:MOUNT ERYX — VIII.Monte San Giuliano; IX.The Madonna and the Personaggi; X.The Universal Deluge; XI.The Return.
^Jones, Henry Festing."Castellinaria, and Other Sicilian Diversions"(PDF).Internet Archive (scan of 1911 ed.). Retrieved4 October 2025.Dedica: "al caro compare Alberto Augugliaro di Monte Erice… e a tutti gli amici siciliani…"
^Jones, Henry Festing (1920)."Diversions in Sicily — Chapter VIII: "Monte San Giuliano"".Project Gutenberg. Retrieved4 October 2025.At 7.30 a brass band began to perambulate the town… at 8.30 the band entered the Matrice, and before Mass the sacred picture was unveiled.
^Jones, Henry Festing (1920)."Diversions in Sicily".Project Gutenberg. Retrieved4 October 2025."I went to theAlbergo Samuel Butler, named after the author ofErewhon… now (1908)… closed… Butler's memory is, however, still preserved in the name of one of the streets." (ch. XIII, pp. 214–215 in Gutenberg HTML)
.jpg)
