Sorry this will be picture and post overload but we went to a pretty awesome place today. Erice ~ the Mountain of God. There was so much to see and do. We wandered for 3 hours on the Erice pass, which turned out to be a pretty awesome price for all we wanted to see. The other fun thing is we went with Anziano Bardsley and Anziano Anderson. They were pretty good traveling companions.
 |
| Rooftop view of the City of Erice |
 |
| Streets running up and down |
Erice is located on the mountain next to Trapani. And it has the most beautiful countryside and ocean views.
 |
| Looking east to the country side |
 |
| Looking North to the sea |
Our first stop was the Castle of Venus. It was an open roof sanctuary where the Greek goddess Aphrodite and the Roman goddess Venus were celebrated. Built in the 12th century, today there are only ruins left.
 |
| Castle of Venus |
 |
| Mostly ruins with Anziano Bardsley and Anziano Anderson |
 |
| The myth is Dedalous built this wall for the protection of the city, 4th and 3rd century BC |
 |
| Wildflowers among the ruins |
 |
| View back to The Castle of Venus from Tower Pepoli |
From there we went to the Tower Pepoli built around 1870. Originally it was used for spiritual contemplations. Restoration was completed in 2014.
 |
| The trail to Tower Pepoli |
 |
| Overlook of Tower Pepoli |
 |
| Mosaic Floor |
 |
| The torrent |
Our trail took us around the outskirts of Erice on to the Spanish Quarters. The fort was built during the 17th century Spanish rule of Sicily. Work was stopped in 1632. Today it houses a museum to past arts and crafts of Erice and history of the sea.
 |
| A tuna boat |
 |
| Horse cart |
Past the Porta Spada ~ Gate of the Sword and along the Cyclopic Walls from the 8th century BC. The walls were used to protect Erice.
 |
| Porta Spada |
 |
| Stairs along the Cyclopic Walls |
 |
| Walking along the Cyclopic Walls |
After this we had a whimsical visit to the Presepe Monumental. The carefully crafted scenes of past Erice.
 |
| The bells |
 |
| A little Romeo and Juliet going on |
 |
| Puppet show |
The Muncipal Museum that was founded in 1876, to contain art pieces from religious corporations. There are also archaeological finds from private collections.
 |
| The annunciation, 1525 Antonello Gagini |
 |
| 1 of 5 paintings from Monastery of Saint Teresa, 18th Century |
 |
| 5th Century, head of Aphrodite |
A quick stop in the Monastery SS Salvatore. The construction is from the 13th century.
 |
| The ovens |
And of course some wandering in the town past shops set up for tourists.
Up next the churches of Erice
No comments:
Post a Comment