Erice and Segesta day trip

Driving to western part of Sicily from Palermo, our first stop will be at the magnificent Temple of Segesta. It was built by the Elimian, an old population whose origins maybe are Turkish but were later colonized by the Greeks to become one of the most important Greek colonies in the west side of Sicily. It is the first Greek Temple built in Doric style. The Temple has 36 columns, still intact despite the several earthquakes

which effected this area in the history. We also visit the theater, which is a typical example of the Greek semi circular theater style. We then move on to the medieval town of Erice, situated 880 meters above the sea level and surrounded by ancient Elimi and Phoenician walls on the northeastern side of the city. Two castles make for a spectacular skyline to this town, Pepoli Castle, with foundations dating from Saracen times, and Venus Castle, dating from the Norman era but built on ruins of the ancient Temple of Venus. Surrounded by a lush park, the hilltop castles alone are worth a stop in Erice, which offers charming old stone streets and medieval churches. Pepoli Castle was at first a feudal stronghold, though Erice was eventually ceded to the Crown as a demesnial city. The view from the castle towers is stupendous. Though both castles have been modified somewhat over the centuries, they still have that distinctively medieval character one expects of such fortresses. Interesting is to visit the Cathedral built in the 1300 in Gothic Catalan style with mirable decorations where we can see the picture of the famous black Virgin venerated in the area. We will stroll the village and taste the famous marzipan cakes made with almonds in different flavors (pistachio, pinots, orange, lemon and so on..) by the famous pastries shop "Grammatico".

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