| ERICE is an ancient medieval hamlet placed on the top of mount San Giuliano (700 metres on the sea level) in a wonderful, panoramic location at the utmost north-western end of Sicily, 100 Km away on the western side of Palermo. The historic town-centre, full of local handicraft shops – ceramics, carpets and traditional almond and candied fruit sweeties – has a typical medieval town-planning plant with its tiny squares, narrow and winding streets containing flowery courts. Among the most important monuments worth visiting there are: la Chiesa Matrice (the Mother Church), il Castello di Venere (Castle of Venus), il Museo Cordici (the Cordici Museum), i Giardini del Balio (the Balio’s gardens with its medieval towers), il Quartiere Spagnolo (the Hispanic Quarter), le Mura Elimo-Puniche (the Elimo-Punic Walls). In the outskirts worth visiting are: le Saline di Trapani (the salt-works of Trapani), an enchanting landscape characterized by its windmills used for the salt cultivation.
Interesting trips to: The Tonnara di Bonagia (where the tunny-massacre occurred) is 13 Km away, Scopello and its Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro (Natural Reserve) is 35 Km away, the Egadi Islands (links from Trapani), Trapani is 14 Km away, Segesta is 50 Km away, Marsala is 45 Km away, Mazara del Vallo is 67 Km away, Selinunte is 100 Km away, Sciacca is 110 Km away, Agrigento is 170 Km away, Palermo is 100 Km away, Catania is 330 Km away. |
