Excursion to Erice

Erice, once called Monte San Giuliano, is a small medieval village with very ancient origins. Here it seems as though time has stopped, leaving room for nature to grow and live freely. Sorrentino Transfer organizes an excursion to Erice to allow those who wish to enter the heart of this mountain village to be swept away by its ancient legends.

It is located in the province of Trapani and, although this municipality has almost 27,000 inhabitants, most of them live in the valley, with very few residents on the mountain.

This makes the village at the top even more evocative: the noise of cars is rare, only the silence echoes in the streets and sometimes the noise of the wind or the bell tower, in the evening the fog falls and brings with it an aura of mystery.

If you have never been to this mountain, we recommend that you visit it and live this unforgettable experience.

Excursion itinerary in Erice

During our excursion we will divide the itinerary as follows.

• Departure from Piazza Francesco Pizzo in Marsala at 9:00 am
• Departure from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele in Trapani at 9:30

Based on your needs, you can decide which of the two cities to leave from.

• Expected arrival in Erice at 10:00am
• Independent visit of the city of Erice for the duration of 2 and a half hours
• Expected return to Trapani at 12:30pm
• Expected return to Marsala at 1:00 pm

Entrance fees, guides, meals and drinks are not included in the price

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What is Erice famous for?

Erice is famous all over the world mainly for its enchanting village and breathtaking landscapes, with an exceptional view over the entire Gulf of Trapani, overlooking the silhouettes of the Egadi Islands and the Valderice valley from above, in addition to the Sicilian countryside full of colors.

This village not only offers an amazing panorama, but is also famous for its craftsmanship, typical ceramics, majolica and hand-woven fabrics, but also for its desserts, such as Genovese, shortcrust pastry and custard sweets, and the almond paste sweets.

It also houses the "Ettore Maiorana" scientific research center, a scientific organization founded in 1963 by physicist Antonino Zichichi.

What to see in half a day in Erice?

Among the main attractions to visit during your half-day excursion to Erice, we recommend that you visit the Cathedral and the Tower of King Federico, built in 1312 by the king to thank the city that had hosted it in a moment of crisis. The tower, on the other hand, was probably built on an ancient military watchtower. You can climb the 110 steps to admire Erice, which, despite the effort, will be worth it.

We recommend visiting the Cordici Museum, where there is a splendid head of Venus from the sixth century. BC, which for a moment will take you back to the Middle Ages for its architecture.

Also worth visiting is the Castle of Venus, built as a place of worship dedicated to female divinities, from the Phoenicians with Astarte to the Greeks with Aphrodite, from the Romans with Venus to the Norman Catholics with the Virgin Mary. Today you can admire a wonderful fortress that overlooks the Trapani valley.

Just before the castle you can see the Pepoli Tower, built by Count Agostino Pepoli so he could devote himself to studies and meetings with other men of culture, and the Balio Gardens, where streets and courtyards intertwine creating the urban fabric of the ancient medieval village .

Finally, we advise you to visit the ancient Cyclopean walls, called this way because the Phoenicians used the nearby robust population of the Cyclops as workers. Among these Elymian-Punic walls, first built by the Elymian people, we can find many narrow passages, to defend the city of Erice from invasions in a simpler way. On some walls the engraving of some letters of the Phoenician alphabet is still visible and this will take you back in time by centuries.