Little did we know but there were two silent rooftop witnesses surveying our slow but steady progress up the narrow checkerboard patterned cobbled streets of Erice. Perched like a hawk on its nest, the medieval fortress town of Erice envelops the limestone cliffs that rise 2554 feet above the fertile green farmlands of Trapani. Silence prevailed along the deserted alleyways that wound their way through the rough, lichen-covered gray stone buildings. We stopped in front of the battered stone façade of the Chiesa Matrice, the simplicity of its Norman Gothic façade hiding the erotic eccentricity of its 19th century neo-Gothic groin-vaulted ceiling.
The ivy-covered ruins of a 12th century Norman fortress now cover the ancient temples of the Elymians, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans, all dedicated to their respective goddesses of fertility: Astarte, Aphrodite or Venus Erycina.
After reaching our objective of the fortress, we split up to explore the various lanes and sample local Sicilian delicacies at a small panineria such as caper and sun-dried tomato tapenade, olive pesto and various tuna spreads. Others soaked in the relaxed atmosphere of this Sicilian gem by drinking lattes and eating marzipan pastries in the Piazza Umberto.
