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TRAPANI
100km
(64 miles) SW of Palermo, 31km (19
miles) N of Trapani, 14km (8 1/2
miles) SW of Erice, 150km (94
miles) NW of Agrigento.
Trapani is situated on the Western Coast of Sicily and you
have an easy access to the rest of
the island, and even to Palermo,
from here. It lies below Mount
Erice, and from the shore you can
clearly see the Egadi Islands.
Trapani is the capital of this
most Westerly province of Sicily,
which includes the medieval hill
town of Erice. It is a land of
great natural beauty, and includes
a shoreline that has many long
beaches of white sand one of which
is the one at San Vito lo Capo.
Its economy is based largely on fishing and winemaking. Salt
mining and tourism are the other
industries of the town and both
are doing quite well. It has a
network of narrow streets at its
centre, but it is not as charming
as Erice. If you have the time you
might consider devoting it to
visit the notable city of Trapani,
once a Phoenician colony.
Trapani's most doubtful reputation
is that of being one of the main
Sicilian centers of the Mafia.
Its original name was Drepanon and it was an important port
in the Carthaginian scheme of
defence during the Punic wars.
Like most Italian towns Trapani
also was finally captured by the
Romans, who took control of the
city in 241 BC, and this was the
beginning of the city’s decline.
The Saracens conquered it in the
ninth century, and under them the
city did prosper, but three
centuries later the Normans took
over. In 1272, Edward l sailed
into the port on his way back from
fighting in the Crusades, to learn
that he had become the King of
England. The city knew even more
invaders, including Peter of
Aragon, who landed here in 1282.
Allied bombardments in 1940 and 1943 almost completely wiped
out the architecture of the city.
The entire historic region of San
Pietro was razed. Unfortunately
the reconstruction after the war
could in no way be compared to the
buildings that contributed to the
grandeur of the old Trapani. The
renovation consisted in building
of several ugly modern blocks, and
as a result, Trapani has fewer
historic sights to visit than most
Sicilian cities of its size. But
of course those that are there are
definitely worth seeing.
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