Erice Things to Do

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The church of Matrice was built in 1314 from stones taken from the ancient Temple of Venus that reputedly stood on this site. Climb the campinello(bell tower)for stunning views across the the Gulf of Trapani and beyond to the Egadi Islands.
Open to the public - Monday to Friday 9.30am to 12.30pm then 3.30pm to 5.30pm
Weekends: 9.30am to 1.00pm then 3.30pm to 6 pm

This is the heart of Erice, with some nice restaurant, the municipality building and the Museum.
Remember that the price in Erice are more expensive thant in Trapani or other villages, cause is a 'must to see' place..

Info from Siciliano.it

The town’s main church is situated near Porta di Trapani, one of the entrances to the town. Built in the 14C, principally using stone from the Temple of Venus, its massive form and merlon-topped walls suggest it was intended as a church-fortress. The façade is graced with a fine rose-window (replicating the original), that is now partly concealed by the Gothic porch that was added a century later. Inside, fashioned in Neo-Gothic, sits a fine marble altarpiece from the Renaissance.

Bell-tower – The lonely tower to the left of the church was originally intended as a watchtower. The first level has simple narrow slits, while the upper section is graced with fine two-light Chiaramonte-style windows. The top is crenellated with Ghibelline merlons.

Surrounded by a lush park, the hilltop castles alone are worth a stop in Erice, which offers charming old stone streets and medieval churches.
Pepoli Castle was at first a feudal stronghold, though Erice was eventually ceded to the Crown as a demesnial city.
The view from the castle towers is stupendous.
Though both castles have been modified somewhat over the centuries, they still have that distinctively medieval character one expects of such fortresses.

The beautiful Mother Church is essentially a 14th century Gothic structure whose style reflects certain Romanesque influences. An older tower stands at the entrance, and the church itself was built upon a much older structure.

Well, what to say about Erice? We got there one late afternoon (or was it early evening?) when all the tour buses were heading out and we were on our way back from touring the area of Trapani. Our guide book told us "not to miss Erice on any account", so here we were.

Of course, there was too little time to get a good impression of the town, sights and restaurants were closing down and a fierce wind was rising. So may be we were just not here at a good time...

In the end we felt that should we have given this place a miss, there would have been a dozen other places in Sicily to make up for it. But if you're in the area, and you have some few hours to spend, don't hesitate to drive your car up the mountain and go see for your self why this medieval town is worth your time.

Wonderful little museum dedicated to archaeological finds from the area surrounding Erice.
Open from 9.00am to 1.30pm then 2.30pm to 5.30 pm weekdays.
Admission is free

This is a castle builded from the Normanni