During our stay in Erice, the only site open to tourists was the Real Chiesa Madrice Insigne Collegiata, or the Royal Cathedral of Erice.  Admission to the church is ticketed, meaning there is an admission price, but the ticket also allows access to the campanile, or bell tower, and so, we chose to visit that…

On our second day in Erice, we awoke to two surprises.  The first was the cloud that had settled right on top of the city.  At times, the fog was so thick that one could not even see a few feet in front of oneself.  The weather forecast called for rain for most of the…

The road leading to the Quartiere Spagnolo takes you along the old city walls.  The walk was peaceful and calming, as we had the place to ourselves. The Porta Spada is another of the ancient city gates, dating from the 8th century BC. Just past the Porta Spada, you will find the Chiesa di Sant’Orsola,…

A plaque on a building pays tribute to Giuseppe Pagoto, a much loved historian and educator, who was born in Erice in 1875.  The plaque adorns the facade of the building where he was born. The Palazzo Sales, at one point home to a religious monastery, is one of the newer buildings in the town….

We decided to hire a car and driver, to take us from Sciacca to our next destination, the mountaintop town of Erice.  I had visited this town years ago, but only spent a few hours there, so I wanted to go back, and really have the chance to explore it.  Since we were going to…

As we continued to explore, we came upon one of the old city gates, the Porta Palermo. Palazzo Steripinto is one of the oldest buildings, still standing in the city today.  It dates from 1501, and was built by Antonio Noceto, grandson of the famous Italian botanist, Gerardo Noceto. The former Monastero Santa Maria dello…

The Palazzo Sortino dates from the 19th century. One of the local restaurants found a unique way to advertise, hanging t-shirts with their name printed on them, over the street.  It certainly drew our attention! I think that the artist responsible for the wooden plaque, pictured below, was trying to convey that, by turning Sicilian…

A monument to the Madonna del Soccorso stands on the Sciacca waterfront. The Fosse Granarie del Caricatore is an ancient storage facility that was used to hold grains.  The grain pits were dug into the rock, and were shaped like tunnels.  They were called “cannoli,” and just maybe this is where the name of the…

The Chiesa di Santa Maria del Giglio dates from 1300, but the church was rebuilt twice, first in 1565, and then again, in 1641.  The facade took on its present day appearance in 1966, when it was reconstructed. As we continued to explore, we came upon a section of the ancient city walls. The Chiesa…

The building, known as La Torrazza, can be found at Via Giglio, #89, and dates back to the Muslim period, between the 10th and 11th centuries. The Palazzo Amato was the home of the noble Amato family.  The family also owned the smaller buildings across the street, which they used as warehouses and stables.  The…

As we climbed higher towards the top of the old town, and the Castello Luna, which sits at the highest point of the city, we passed placards that explained the history of the castle, and the events that made up the “Case of Sciacca,”  a bloody feud between the Luna and the Perollo, two of…

We began our second day in Sciacca by heading back up to the historical center.  We were joined on the stairway by a family of kittens, resting in the warm autumn sun. Once up in the historical center, we passed a window display of art by Alessandro Venezia, poking fun at or, should I say,…