Talk:Erice

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Revisions to Castle and Geography Sections

I've made two main sets of edits to improve accuracy and structure:

1. Removed and relocated content about the castles: The previous text referring to "Pepoli Castle" as dating from Saracen times was inaccurate. The name appears to be a misidentification, and no such castle exists in Erice under that designation. Additionally, the detailed material on the Temple of Venus and mythological traditions (e.g., Aeneas, Venus Ericina, and Aelian) may be better suited to an article specifically about the Castle of Venus or Venus Ericina. I'm preserving that content here in case future editors wish to adapt or reuse it:

There are two castles that remain in the city: Pepoli Castle, which dates from Saracen times, and the Castello di Venere ("Venus Castle"), dating from the Norman period, built on top of the ancient Temple of Venus, where Venus Ericina was worshipped. According to legend, the temple was founded by Aeneas. It was well known throughout the Mediterranean area in the ancient age, and an important cult was celebrated in it. In his book On the Nature of Animals, Aelian writes that animals chosen for sacrifice would voluntarily walk up to the altar to be killed.

2. Clarified the geography section: To improve flow and clarity, the paragraph describing Erice’s layout was broken into shorter parts. Minor wording adjustments were also made for accuracy and tone. The updated section includes the following:

Casa Santa, the lower district of Erice, is situated at the base of Mount Erice, immediately adjacent to Trapani. A cable car (funivia) connects the upper and lower parts of the municipality. Originally opened in 2005, it was closed in 2017 following forest fire damage and reopened in June 2018 after restoration.

Feedback or further refinements welcome! Kned Wiki (talk) 12:38, 19 May 2025 (UTC)

Proposal to update lead section for clarity and international audience

Hello,

I'd like to propose a revision of the lead section to better reflect the nature of Erice as a municipality, not just a historic town, and to give a clearer overview of its geography and historical significance.

The current lead reads:

Erice (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɛːɾitʃe]; Sicilian: Èrici [ˈɛːɾɪʃɪ]) is a historic town and comune in the province of Trapani, Sicily, southern Italy. It is a member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy") association.

While accurate, this description is somewhat limited, as it does not reflect the full scope of the municipality, which includes the medieval hilltop centre as well as modern lower districts such as Casa Santa and coastal areas. The proposed version improves clarity, geographic orientation, and structural flow for a general audience.

Proposed lead section:

Erice (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɛːritʃe]; Sicilian: Èrici [ˈɛːɾɪʃɪ]) is a municipality in the Province of Trapani, in western Sicily, Italy. It encompasses both the medieval hilltop centre of Erice, built on the site of the ancient Elymian city of Eryx, and a number of modern lower districts, some of which are situated on the foothills and along the Tyrrhenian coast.

The historic centre served as a major religious and strategic site for the Elymians, Carthaginians, and Romans. Today, it retains much of its medieval character, with cobbled streets, stone churches, and a vantage point that once offered strategic control over the Strait of Sicily and the western coast.

The town is a member of I Borghi più belli d’Italia (“The Most Beautiful Villages of Italy”), an association that recognises historic settlements of notable cultural and architectural value.

Let me know your thoughts — if there are no objections or improvements suggested in the next few days, I’ll proceed with the update.

Thanks! Kned Wiki (talk) 09:13, 20 May 2025 (UTC)

Yes, this is a vast improvement. However, paragraph 2 sentence 2 seems a little tour-guide-y to me. Furius (talk) 10:06, 20 May 2025 (UTC)

Thanks. That's helpful and I'll re-word it.

I'm not sure about changing the description of Erice in the first paragraph from 'historic town and comune' to only 'municipality' as the Wikipedia Comune page provides a definition.

Erice is roughly the same size (in terms of population) as Cefalù and Noto; and has approximately twice the population of Taormina. This is how those towns are described on Wikipedia:

• Cefalù: 'a city and comune'
• Noto: 'city and comune'
• Taormina: 'comune (municipality)' - comune not hyperlinked

Like Cafalù and Noto, Erice has 'città' (city) status based, I assume, on their historical significance rather than size.

Let me know what you think. Kned Wiki (talk) 05:55, 21 May 2025 (UTC)

Great! If it has city status, we should say so. Furius (talk) 13:08, 21 May 2025 (UTC)

Request for feedback on expanded draft of Erice article

Hi all,

I've been working on a substantial expansion of the Erice article to reflect the town's archaeological, historical, cultural, and geographic significance in greater depth. The expanded draft is available for review here:

👉 User:Kned Wiki/Erice (expanded draft)

I've checked all internal and external links, verified references, and ensured citations follow Wikipedia style. Before replacing the current article, it would be greatly appreciated if other editors could take a look—particularly at the formatting, structure, and any content issues that may need refinement.

Feedback of any kind is welcome. Thanks! Kned Wiki (talk) 14:25, 23 May 2025 (UTC)

Possible Habsburg coat of arms at Castle of Venus and Balio Tower

Hello all,

I'm currently working on improving the article and would like to confirm a detail regarding the heraldry visible at the site.

At the entrance to the Castle of Venus in Erice, there is a prominent coat of arms carved in stone, which also appears on the crenellated walls of the Balio Tower — historically part of the castle’s advanced defensive structure. Based on its elements, it appears to match the coat of arms of the Spanish Habsburgs (House of Austria), which would align with the period of Spanish rule in Sicily.

However, I have not yet been able to locate an academic or reliable published source to confirm this identification. If anyone has access to scholarly works, official inventories, or reputable architectural or heraldic studies that could verify this, I’d greatly appreciate the help.

Thanks in advance! Kned Wiki (talk) 10:33, 28 May 2025 (UTC)