Having driven down the salt road, we entered Trapani by the port and old town, situated on a curved spit of land like a sickle for which the town is named. Running like a spine down the centre is the very grand Corso Vittorio Emanuele, studded with fancy shops and fine Baroque facades.
The Chiesa del Purgatorio is home to the sculptures, called Misteri, carried through the town on Good Friday by a local guild every year since before 1612. They depict the various chapters in the Easter story and are beautifully crafted showing realistic features and drama of movement.
Walking to the far end we saw the Lazaretto, built as a military hospital on one side …
… and Torre di Ligny built as a Spanish defence against pirates on the other.
We are staying in the newer part of town in a neighbourhood that seemed very quiet at 3pm …
… but then things woke up and we found we had an audience from the shop across the road!
Our island hop was to Favignana, one of the Egadi islands an hour away. We were pleased to be off on our ferry when we saw the huge ship of day trippers arrive in Trapani!
Favignana has a busy harbour, with fishermen selling their catch, with the castle in the background.
We passed Stabilimento Florio, the mansion built by the man who established the tuna canneries in the 1870s, but factory fishing brought the industry here to an end, and the old buildings lay abandoned.
We wandered round the town, through a couple of piazzas, looking into shops selling various gastronomic treats heavily featuring tuna …
… walked quickly past Forte San Giacamo, a maximum security prison then had a coffee and watched the world go by.
Needing some exercise, and to build up an appetite for lunch we climbed up to Forta di Santa Caterina on the top of the hill and were rewarded with great views.
After some lunch in a typical little self-service restaurant, we were going to take the little tourist road train for a tour round the island, but it left early and without us, so we returned to Trapani on the hydrofoil.
We allowed the cable car to take the strain for our climb to Erice, 750m up perched on a limestone spur above Trapani.
It was founded in 1200BC by the Elymians who built a holy temple to the goddess of love here, which was renowned throughout the ancient world, although there are no remains, but we did see a beautiful 5C head of Aphrodite on display in the museum.
Today Erice has lots of charm with ancient city walls offering great views of Trapani below, with the salt pans on the left that we drove past, Favignana, the island in the distance and the Lazaretto at the end of Trapani harbour.
In a view the other way there is Monte Cofano that we hope to be walking round tomorrow.
There are two Norman castles, Castello di Venere on the site of the original temple …
… and Torre Pepoli …
… lots of cobbled streets and gift shops, charming even during a shower …
… and a 12C Duomo and a surprisingly stunning 19C neo-gothic interior and ceiling.
Erice is also famous for its pasticceria, making delectable goodies made from recipes refined by nuns since 16C and we visited the shop of Maria Grammatico who entered the convent of San Carlo in Erice where she learnt the “secret” art. We bought a tray of mixed goodies, belli e brutti with odd shapes, sospiri which are a little like almond macaroons and several others to try … yummy!
Today’s flowers are these tiny purple ones that we have seen growing everywhere, along the side of the road, in cracks between stones and here in the Castello ….
Our host Mino recommended a couple of great local restaurants like Osteria La Dolce Vita, where they show you the menu, then the waiter comes and tells you which dishes they have cooked today! We had antipasti from a buffet, then a huge plate of pasta each, Chris’s with mushrooms and walnuts and mine with fish roe and cherry tomatoes.
So we are off tomorrow … walking.
Off Travelling Together 