Monte Erice

Favignana and the Aegadian Islands are part of the province of Trapani, which is just 11 nm away on the western tip of Sicily. It was a very calm sunny day as we lifted our anchor from the clear blue water and headed over to Trapani, where we anchored in the sheltered harbour. In contrast to the islands, the water was not so clear here. The seabed is mud, so good holding for the anchor, but you certainly couldn’t see the bottom and the water looked a bit green.

In preparation for our next passage, we booked into the marina where we were able to give ZigZag a good clean, refuel; with diesel for Ziggy, petrol for Ed and gas for cooking, do the laundry and top up the batteries, water and provisions. Also, we were in a good position to explore the city.

Trapani is the capital of the province, a small city which was, and still is, an important fishing port. Historically, Trapani also developed a lucrative economy based on the extraction and trade of salt. Now a thriving port strategically located with ferry connections to the Aegadian Islands, the Italian mainland, Malta and Tunisia.

From the harbour and marina, we had views of a Monte Erice, a high point overlooking the city, where the medieval hilltop town of Erice is situated. Cable cars run up and down the nearside which we could see lit up in the evening.

The bottom of the hill is just outside of the city and a regular bus service is advertised. With spectacular views from the top, it is suggested to visit around sunset. On our first evening we waited for the bus which took some time to come (it was a Sunday and perhaps they weren’t quite so regular), and then when it eventually arrived, we sat on it for ages waiting for it to leave. As time was passing, it would be dark by the time we got to the top, so we aborted the plan and decided to have a look around Trapani’s old town instead.

As the sun was starting to go down, we walked along the waterfront promenade towards the Ligny Tower at the furthest point, which is a 17th century coastal watchtower. There were originally five towers built to defend the city, four of which are still standing.

The old town has pedestrianised streets that lead to lively piazzas, historic buildings, churches, palaces and an ancient Loggia.

The city of Trapani originally had extensive defensive walls which were expanded in the 13th century to include eleven gates. But only two remain today, Porta Oscura is the oldest gate of the city, with an astronomical clock built in 1596, one of the oldest in Europe.

The busy main street runs through the old town with shops and restaurants, we were recommended (by some classy friends), to visit a small wine bar where they serve local wine from the barrel, which you drink while sitting in the gutter. When we arrived, the gutters were full so they found us some stools instead, obviously thought that we were too posh (old) to squat in the gutter! We didn’t manage to visit the pizza restaurant in the brothel which our friends also suggested.

As the evening went on, the town got busier.

Eventually it was time to head home, but on our way back to Ziggy we could hear the sound of trumpets coming from down the street. After a few minutes walking we came across a brightly illuminated church with nobody inside, but there was a full brass band playing outside with a large audience. Also, being Sicily a lot of sweet deserts were also being enjoyed. Not something we expected to see as midnight was approaching.

The following day, we set off again to visit the hill top town of Erice. It was approximately an hours walk out of the city to the cable car so we decided to walk rather than hang around for the bus.

Eventually we arrived at the cable car, the long ride up took about 20 minutes to the top where it felt 5° cooler, which was nice after our hot walk to get there.

Surrounding the town are thick defensive walls some of which date back to the Ancient Greek occupation of the site.

The mountain town is very charming with its quaint medieval paved streets and alleys lined with sturdy ancient stone houses, churches and castles.

The church of San Giuliano is at the highest point of the village. There is also a castle set within the trees.

Being 750 metres above sea level it offers panoramic views over the sea, Trapani, the surrounding countryside, the Aegadian islands and on a clear day, as far as Northern Africa.

After taking in the views, we stopped to enjoy the sunset at the hilltop cafe. However, just for change, the sunset was a bit of a disappointment, but the drinks were good.

We walked back down through the town, which looked pretty with its lights on, and out through the town gate.

In the cable car down, we had great views of the city at night but unfortunately, the glass surround was very scratched so the photos are not so good.

The following day, after completing our list of jobs to do in the marina, we headed back over to Favignana, where we anchored and waited a couple of days for a good wind to take us to our next destination.