{"id":413,"date":"2007-11-05T07:39:49","date_gmt":"2007-11-05T07:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/11\/05\/erice-sicily-and-le-genovesi\/"},"modified":"2008-08-20T20:02:19","modified_gmt":"2008-08-20T20:02:19","slug":"erice-sicily-and-le-genovesi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/11\/05\/erice-sicily-and-le-genovesi\/","title":{"rendered":"Erice, Sicily and Le Genovesi"},"content":{"rendered":"

The medieval city of Erice sits on a hill high above the Trapani coast, about 2,400 feet above sea level. It can be reached by funicular from Trapani or you can take one of two roads that wind up the side of the mountain. <\/p>\n

Erice has a mythological background – Eryx, the son of Aphrodite and Poseidon was the founder of the town, and was once the seat of the cult of the fertility goddess Venus Erycina. Erice has even been called many other things – Eryx, Gebel-Hamed by the Arabs, Monte San Giuliano under the Normans, and only recently (1934) called Erice by Mussolini.<\/p>\n

Though the town is not tiny (28,000 people), stepping inside the walled portion of the city feels a bit like stepping back in time. Narrow streets, cobblestones and touristic paths wind through the city. We actually took a “backroads” path toward the Castello Venere and avoided most of the crush.<\/p>\n

\"Erice<\/a><\/p>\n

The Chiesa Matrice, close to the Porta Trapani of the city, was constructed in the 14th century and is reported to have been constructed with materials from the Venus temple. There were so many churches in this tiny town that they literally popped out at you from the side streets.<\/p>\n

\"Chiesa<\/a><\/p>\n

On a clear day, they say you can see as far as Tunisia, but if you remember, we were there during the many fires in Sicily this summer<\/a> and our view was limited. But I can imagine, and our view took my breath away just the same.<\/p>\n

We went inside the Norman Castello Venere, which was little more than floorplan ruins and some darkened cellars, but with a small donation we were able to get even more spectacular views and find a little shade as we wandered around inside the open castle structure.<\/p>\n

\"Castello<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Trapani<\/a><\/p>\n

If you’re thinking this next castle looks very well-maintained, you’re right. The Castello di Pepoli was most recently refurbished to be a villa\/bed & breakfast called Resort Torri Pepoli<\/a>, or you can partake of an aperitivo in their outside garden terrace. <\/p>\n

\"Castello<\/a><\/p>\n

What fascinated me most was the little Toretta di Pepoli<\/strong>, the little Pepoli tower below the main castle. To the eye, there was no discernible way to reach the little castle, and we imagined all sorts of backstories for the tower and its use of imprisonment and\/or seclusion of a past nobleman or woman. <\/p>\n

The little tower was built by the Count Agostino Pepoli between 1872 and 1880, and it appears that the city of Erice is going to give it some attention as they just announced a plan to restore it and use it for cultural events. The question remains – how will the people reach it? <\/p>\n

I love how both of these castles come straight out of the rock, to the point that you can’t tell where one ends and one begins. Perhaps the rock, once mastered, is overtaking the castles now.<\/p>\n

\"Torretta<\/a><\/p>\n

A trip to Erice couldn’t be complete without a visit to the Antica Pasticceria del Convento (Via G. Fillippo Guarnotti). The story goes that the nuns adopted a small girl, and after she left the convent, she started to make these “Genovesi<\/strong>” which the nuns had made. They are filled with a pastry cream and sprinkled with powdered sugar. We also took home a little tray of pasticcini, little pastries for an aperitivo that night. <\/p>\n

\"Le<\/a><\/p>\n

I plan on heading back to Erice soon to get that view that was promised me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The medieval city of Erice sits on a hill high above the Trapani coast, about 2,400 feet above sea level. It can be reached by funicular from Trapani or you can take one of two roads that wind up the side of the mountain. Erice has a mythological background – Eryx, the son of Aphrodite…<\/p>\n

Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,3,2,96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-discovering-italy","category-food","category-italy","category-sicily","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uB1-6F","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1494,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/07\/07\/visit-favignana-island-in-sicily-italy-a-day-trip-on-a-scooter\/","url_meta":{"origin":413,"position":0},"title":"Visit Favignana Island in Sicily, Italy: A Day Trip on a Scooter","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"July 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I love Sicily, and it's competing hard with Puglia to be my favorite region in Italy. This summer unfortunately I won't be visiting Sicily, as I have the past two years, but I still have quite a few pictures to share. I already told you about our boat trip around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discovering Italy"","block_context":{"text":"Discovering Italy","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/discovering-italy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Roundabout in Favignana Island, Sicily, Italy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3535\/3697352978_4cffe2cf3e.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":393,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/09\/24\/pasta-alla-norma-and-welcome-to-sicily\/","url_meta":{"origin":413,"position":1},"title":"Pasta alla Norma and Welcome to Sicily","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"September 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Wait, we're in Sicily already! Let me back up. We departed directly from Puglia to Sicily, to arrive at the Trapani airport. A one luggage-carousel kind of airport, at a certain point I almost volunteered to go outside and help unload. Our friends, a Sicilian couple living in Milan, picked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Entree"","block_context":{"text":"Entree","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/recipe\/entree\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A summer terrace in Sicily","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.static.flickr.com\/1156\/1431764100_3730bb2560.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":394,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/09\/27\/segesta-sicily-eggplant-parmesan-stacks\/","url_meta":{"origin":413,"position":2},"title":"Segesta Greek Ruins in Sicily and Eggplant Parmesan Stacks","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"September 27, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Our Sicilian hosts lived very near the beautiful Greek ruins, Segesta. The ruins were practically in their backyard! 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Segesta does\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discovering Italy"","block_context":{"text":"Discovering Italy","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/discovering-italy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Segesta Temple, Sicily","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm2.static.flickr.com\/1394\/1445581233_f6b0df9739.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":397,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/10\/05\/marettimo-sicily-a-boat-tour-to-remember\/","url_meta":{"origin":413,"position":3},"title":"Marettimo, Sicily : A Boat Tour to Remember","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"October 5, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Ok, we'll have to take a break from all the \"food porn\" in Sicily to remember why we were there: seeing beautiful places in Sicily and spending time with our friends! 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Though I was fascinated by these gentlemen, I had to remind myself that I was not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discovering Italy"","block_context":{"text":"Discovering Italy","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/discovering-italy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Waiting for the Sea, Marettimo, Sicily","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2283\/1512103841_de96f8ecdd.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/413\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}