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Erice
Erice (; ) is a (municipality) contiguous with the provincial capital Trapani, in western Sicily. Its historic core occupies the site of the ancient city of Eryx, one of the most significant archaeological and religious centres in pre-Roman western Sicily.De Vincenzo, Salvatore (2015). "The fortification wall of Eryx: A new definition of the settlement's construction phases and topographic development in light of recent excavations." ''Analysis Archaeologica'', vol. 1, pp. 103–116link/ref> Located on the summit of Monte Erice, the city developed around a site that later became a prominent religious and military stronghold for the Carthaginians and Romans. It retains its medieval layout and architecture, with few modern interventions, and occupies a natural vantage point that historically offered strategic control over the Strait of Sicily and the western coastline. The municipality includes both the hilltop centre and a number of modern lower districts, some of which exten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiesa Matrice, Erice
Chiesa Matrice, formally titled the ''Chiesa Madre di Erice'' (Mother Church of Erice), is the principal Roman Catholic church in Erice, Sicily. Commonly referred to as the ''Duomo di Erice'' or ''Real Duomo'' (Royal Cathedral), it was built in the early 14th century during the reign of King Frederick III of Aragon and is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The church stands as a prominent example of Sicilian Gothic architecture, with later additions and restorations reflecting changing liturgical and artistic styles. Its full historical name, ''Real Chiesa Madrice Insigne Collegiata'' (Royal Distinguished Mother and Collegiate Church), reflects its collegiate status—served by a chapter of canons but not a bishop. The term ''matrice'', from Latin ''matrix'' ("origin" or "source"), is traditionally used in Italian ecclesiastical language for a town’s main church. The Sicilian dialect form ''madrice'' is also common and appears in local signage and usage. Situated a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balio Gardens
The Balio Gardens (Giardino del Balio) are public gardens at the summit of Monte Erice in Erice, Sicily. The gardens take their name from the ''Bajulo'', a magistrate who represented the sovereign authority following the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The Bajulo resided in what is now known as the Balio Towers (''Torri del Balio''), which also served as a gatehouse to the nearby Venus Castle (''Castello di Venere''). The gardens are sited on 6 hectares of land surrounding the towers, previously used for grazing. At an elevation of approximately 750 metres, they overlook the Strait of Sicily and much of what is now Trapani province. The Balio Gardens are part of the Grandi Giardini Italiani network. History The Balio Gardens were created in 1872 by Count Agostino Sieri Pepoli who leased the Balio Towers and grazing land from the city in exchange for restoring the towers and developing a public garden. The gardens were designed in an English garden style, featuring Medit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monte Erice
Monte Erice, or ancient Greek Mount Eryx, is a mountain of Sicily, in the province of Trapani. Location The mountain is to the east of Trapani and encompasses an area of 18.3 km2. The Lenzi River has its source on the mountain. The city of Erice is located on the summit, the frazione of Santa Casa, Erice and the suburbs of Trapani are located on the western slopes, and the comune of Valderice 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 in the state forest of Sant'Anna, as well as Quercus ilex, holm oak and downy oak in the Costa Spada area. There are numerous hiking trails. Four of these are officially marked by the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI), connecting the historic centre of Erice with surrounding forests, chapels, and panoramic overlooks: * Sentiero Demanio Forestale San Matteo (CAI 604) – A 6.9 km moderate trail descending from Erice’s Chiesa Matrice, Erice, Chi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eryx (Sicily)
Eryx (, ''Éryx''; , ) was an ancient city and a mountain of Magna Graecia in the west of Sicily, about 10 km from Drepana (modern Trapani), and 3 km from the sea-coast. It was located at the site of modern Erice. Mount Eryx The mountain, now called Monte Erice, is a wholly isolated peak, rising in the midst of a low undulating tract, which causes its elevation to appear much more considerable than it really is, so that it was regarded in ancient as well as modern times as the most lofty summit in the whole island next to Aetna, though its real elevation does not exceed 2184 English feet. Hence we find Eryx alluded to by Virgil and other Latin poets as a mountain of the first order of magnitude, and associated with Athos, Aetna, etc. On its summit stood a celebrated temple of Venus or Aphrodite, founded, according to the current legend, by Aeneas, whence the goddess derived the surname of Venus Erycina, by which she is often mentioned by Latin writers. Legends Anoth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trapani
Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, 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 important fishing port and the main gateway to the nearby Egadi Islands. Historically, Trapani developed a thriving economy based on the extraction and trade of salt, benefiting from its strategic position projecting into the Mediterranean Sea, and from its port, which was once the commercial gateway for the ancient city of Eryx (Sicily), Eryx (modern-day Erice), situated atop the mountain that overlooks it. Today, its economy relies primarily on the service sector, fishing (historically tuna fishing using traditional methods known as ''mattanza''), marble quarrying and exportation, commercial activities, and tourism. The urban agglomeration includes approximately 80,000 residents, as it also encompasses the populous district of Casa Santa, administratively belonging to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4.7 million inhabitants, including 1.2 million in and around the capital city of Palermo, it is both the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea. Sicily is named after the Sicels, who inhabited the eastern part of the island during the Iron Age. Sicily has a rich and unique culture in #Art and architecture, arts, Music of Sicily, music, #Literature, literature, Sicilian cuisine, cuisine, and Sicilian Baroque, architecture. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, and one of the most active in the world, currently high. The island has a typical Mediterranean climate. It is separated from Calabria by the Strait of Messina. It is one of the five Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elymians
The Elymians () were an ancient tribe, tribal people who inhabited the western part of Sicily during the Bronze Age and Classical antiquity. Origins According to Thucydides, the Elymians were refugees coming from the destroyed Troy. Instead for Hellanicus of Lesbos they arrived in Sicily coming from Italy, driven out by the Oenotrians. Furthermore for the Greek historian, the Elymians would also have contributed to the formation of the Sicels. The Elymian language is considered to have been a part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. While an ancient tradition that the Elymians came from Troy – and were originally an Anatolian peoples, Anatolian people – is corroborated by archeological data, the more generally supported opinion is that Elymian was an Italic language, with similarities to Classical Latin, Latin. Hence an Italic peoples, Italic origin for the Elymians is considered to be more likely. Greek historian Philistus refers to the presenc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establishment of the Roman Empire following the War of Actium. During this period, Rome's control expanded from the city's immediate surroundings to hegemony over the entire Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean world. Roman society at the time was primarily a cultural mix of Latins (Italic tribe), Latin and Etruscan civilization, Etruscan societies, as well as of Sabine, Oscan, and Greek cultural elements, which is especially visible in the Ancient Roman religion and List of Roman deities, its pantheon. Its political organisation developed at around the same time as direct democracy in Ancient Greece, with collective and annual magistracies, overseen by Roman Senate, a senate. There were annual elections, but the republican system was an elective olig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jagdgeschwader 27
''Jagdgeschwader'' 27 (JG 27) "''Afrika''" was a fighter wing of the Luftwaffe during World War II. The wing was given the name "Africa" for serving in the North African Campaign predominantly alone in the period from April 1941 to September 1942. Elements of JG 27 fought in every major theatre of operations in which the Wehrmacht operated. Stab JG 27 was created in October 1939 and assigned two ''gruppen'' (groups) in the Phoney War. The wing's first campaign was Fall Gelb, the battles of the Low Countries and France. In the second half of 1940 JG 27 received a third ''gruppe'' and fought in the Battle of Britain. In 1941 it returned to Germany then fought in the German invasion of Yugoslavia and Battle of Greece in April 1941. The wing was then separated with two ''gruppen'' sent to support Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. I. ''Gruppe'' was sent to Italian Libya beginning JG 27s North African Campaign from mid-April ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Borghi Più Belli D'Italia
() is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the aim of preserving and maintaining villages of quality heritage. Its motto is ("The charm of hidden Italy"). Participants in the group are small population centres which risk neglect and abandonment because they lie outside the main tourist circuits. Initially they comprised about a hundred villages, but had increased to 361 in 2023. In 2012, the Italian association was one of the founding members of the international association The Most Beautiful Villages in the World, a private organization that brings together various territorial associations promoting small inhabited centres of particular historical and landscape interest. Description Admission criteria The criteria for admission to the association meet the following requirements: in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Province Of Trapani
The province of Trapani (; ; officially ''libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by the free municipal consortium of Trapani (Italian: ''libero consorzio comunale di Trapani''). Its capital is the city of Trapani. It has an area of and a total population of 411,396 as of 2025. There are 25 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in the province (see List of municipalities of the Province of Trapani, ''comuni'' of the province of Trapani). History The area now covered by the province was occupied successively by the Punic people, Carthaginians, Ancient Greece, Greeks and latterly by the Roman Empire, Romans. The port of Trapani, first known as Drepana, then Drepanon, was inhabited by the Sicani and the Elymians, Elymi becoming a prosperous Phoenicia, Phoenician trading centre by the 8th century BC. It was taken by the Carthaginians in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
