Erice

Erice sits at 751 meters on the summit of Monte San Giuliano, directly above Trapani and the salt pans of the Mediterranean coast. The Elymians, the pre-Greek Sicilian people whose language is still undeciphered, founded the city; the Phoenicians worshipped Astarte here, the Greeks Aphrodite, the Romans Venus Erycina. The temple stood on the castle rock from at least the fifth century BC.

The Normans built the Castello di Venere on the same ground in the twelfth century, reusing the temple stones; the fortress and the Balio towers still crown the eastern cliff. The historic centre keeps a perfect medieval plan of stone-paved lanes and over sixty churches inside the triangular walls. Since 1963 the Ettore Majorana Foundation has run physics schools and international conferences from four restored monasteries; one of the early hosts was the former residence of the Sicilian viceroy. The view from the Balio reaches Trapani, the Egadi Islands and, on clear days, Tunisia.