Travels in Italy--Erice

After our visit to Segesta, we visited the sister town of Erice, not far away.  Like Segesta, Erice is built atop hill for easy defense, except that Erice's hill is much higher (twice as high) and steeper.  The bus ride to the top was harrowing--along a narrow, cliffside road with many switchbacks. 

Erice was originally settled by the indigenous Elymian people around 800 B.C., possibly earlier.  Over time, Greeks, Phoenicians and Carthaginians controlled Erice until the arrival of the Romans in 244 B.C. 

The Romans governed Erice for hundreds of years and erected a temple to Venus.  Our guide explained that this particular temple was like a religious brothel where sailors and travelers would go to "worship".  Venus is, after all, the goddess of love.

Following the fall of Rome, a succession of kingdoms controlled Erice--from Byzantines to Arabs to Normans to Spaniards until the unification of Italy in the 1800's. 

Today, Erice is a small, picturesque walled village with about 500 inhabitants and many more tourists during summer.  Some hearty visitors even bicycled to Erice. 

The Cathedral of the Assumption, Erice's largest church, and the bell tower

An ancient cross on the side of the largest church--borrowed from the Temple of Venus

Erice's Norman castle

Another view of Erice's Norman castle

On the hillside next to the Norman castle, we spotted this small castle-like building, the Torreta Pepoli built in 1870.

Because Erice sits atop a high hill, it has some amazing views of nearby plains and water.

Below is a photo of a typical balcony in Erice.  We always assumed the railing curved outward for decoration not function.  Our guide explained that the outward bulge allowed woman in hooped skirts to stand near the railing without the back of the skirt lifting up and exposing their undergarments.  Who knew?

Next Up:  Agrigento

P.S.  Erice is home to the Cronoscalata Monte Erice, an annual car race up the twisting mountain road to Erice.  The course is 5,730 meters long and the average incline is almost 7%.  You can see last year's general classification winner by clicking here.  The winner posted a record time, 2' 53" 70, an average speed of nearly 74 MPH.