Monte Erice, or ancient Greek Mount Eryx, is a mountain of Sicily, in the

province of Trapani Trapani ( it, Provincia di Trapani, scn, Pruvincia di Tràpani; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it ...

Location

The mountain is to the east of

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an impor ...

and encompasses an area of 18.3 km². The Lenzi River has its source on the mountain. The city of

Erice Erice (; scn, Èrici) is a historic town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, Sicily, in southern Italy. Geography The main town of Erice is located on top of Mount Erice, at around above sea level, overlooking the city of Trapani, the ...

is located on the summit, the

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

of Santa Casa, Erice and the suburbs of Trapani are located on the western slopes, and the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

Valderice Valderice ( Sicilian: ''Valdèrici'') is a town and ''comune'' in North-Western Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani. The city is located in the inland, close to the provincial capital city of Trapani, but includes als ...

is on the eastern side of the mountain.

Geography

The mountain is covered by vegetation: there is a forest of Aleppo pine around Martogna,

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

in the state forest of Sant'Anna, as well as holm oak and

downy oak ''Quercus pubescens'', the downy oak or pubescent oak, is a species of white oak (genus ''Quercus'' sect. ''Quercus'') native to southern Europe and southwest Asia, from northern Spain (Pyrenees) east to the Crimea and the Caucasus. It is also fou ...

in the Costa Spada area. There are numerous hiking trails. The Sicilian Forestry Corps has established an agro-forestry museum at S. Matteo, 4 km from the summit of Erice.

History

In ancient times the mountain was occupied by the

Elymians The Elymians ( grc-gre, Ἔλυμοι, ''Élymoi''; Latin: ''Elymi'') were an ancient tribal people who inhabited the western part of Sicily during the Bronze Age and Classical antiquity. Origins According to Hellanicus of Lesbos, the Elymians ...

and subsequently by the

Carthaginians The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

, the Greeks, and the Romans, who worshipped Aphrodite Erycina, or

Venus Erycina Venus (), , is a Roman goddess, whose functions encompass love, beauty, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. In Roman mythology, she was the ancestor of the Roman people through her son, Aeneas, who survived the fall of Troy and fle ...

, there. In 1117 it was renamed as Monte San Giuliano by the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

, . The original name was restored in 1934. Until the 1950s the comune of Monte San Giuliano included the territory of the current commune of

, as well as Valderice,

Custonaci Custonaci ( Sicilian: ''Custunaci'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, south-Western Sicily, southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Eu ...

San Vito Lo Capo San Vito Lo Capo ( scn, Santu Vitu) is a town and ''comune'' in North-Western Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani. The small town is located in a valley between mountains, and is home to a public beach that is destin ...

and

Buseto Palizzolo Buseto Palizzolo ( Sicilian: ''Palazzolu'') is a town and ''comune'' in North-Western Sicily, Italy, administratively part of the province of Trapani. Geography Buseto Palizzolo is located in the hills east of Trapani, the highest of which is w ...

. Since 1954, the Monte Erice

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the fir ...

championship has taken place on its slopes every year.

References

External links

*{{cite web, url=http://www.regione.sicilia.it/presidenza/ucomrifiuti/acque/DOCUMENTI/DOCUMENTI_E/E3/TRAPANI/Monte%20Erice.pdf, author=Regional Government of Sicily, title=Corpo Idrico Sotterraneo: Monte Erice

Erice

Location

Geography

History

See also

References

External links