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ERICE
96km
(60 miles) SW of Palermo, 14km (8
1/2 miles) NE of Trapani, 45km (28
miles) NW of Marsala, 330km (205
miles) W of Messina.
Erice is not a place to visit for its art, sports or history,
theres not much of that – but
come there just for its scenic
beauty. It is a beautiful place to
spend a lazy afternoon wandering
the medieval streets, with their
ornate balconies and blossoming
vines, or to just sit and enjoy
the endless panoramas. The
southwest corner of town contains
the Villa Balio gardens
laid out in the 19th century.
Beyond the gardens, a path climbs
up cliff's edge up to Erice's
highest point, the Castello di
Venere, which is now little
more than crumbling walls
surrounding the sacred site where
a temple to Venus once stood.
The
city was founded nearly three
thousand years ago, and it has a
medieval charm and mystery about
it. From its breathtaking
mountaintop setting, two steep
cliffs drop 743m (2,478 ft.) to a
landscape across the plains of
Trapani and down the west coast of
Sicily. On a clear day, you can
even see Cape Bon in Tunisia, but
the Sicilian aerie of Erice is
often covered in mist and
that only adds to its
charisma. In winter, temperatures
can plunge below Sicilian norms
and snow and hail are frequent
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