Erice

Erice is a municipality in the province of Trapani, at the western tip of Sicily, whose historic town crowns Monte Erice at about 751 metres above sea level, with views over Trapani and the Egadi Islands, while most of its residents live at the foot of the mountain, in Casa Santa, next to Trapani. With around 26,000 inhabitants according to the 2021 census, it was the ancient Eryx of the Elymians, contested by Syracuse and Carthage until Rome took it in 241 BC, and it was called Monte San Giuliano until 1934. It preserves the Norman Castle of Venus, built over the ancient sanctuary of Venus Erycina, and Elymian-Punic walls from the 8th and 7th centuries BC, and since 1962 it has been home to the Ettore Majorana Centre for Scientific Culture. In sport, its name is linked to the Cronoscalata del Monte Erice, a motor-racing hill climb valid for the Italian mountain speed championship, and to the women's handball of Handball Erice, which has competed in Serie A1. Erice has been designated European City of Sport 2027, a title that will place it within the broad Italian representation of the ACES network.