Chapter 3 - Segesta, Erice
DAY
3
Segesta
Day 3 - November 14, 2024
Today we departed Palermo and drove about an hour away to the archeological site of Segesta. The highlights of Segesta are the Greek Doric temple and the ancient theatre, amid other ruins. The day was warm and sunny, and with spectacular views. The hilltop offers a view over the valley towards the Gulf of Castellamare. The temple is believed to have been built by the Athenians in the mid 5th century BC, however there is evidence that the structure was left unfinished. We never imagined we would be able to walk inside such an ancient Greek structure, let alone one in Sicily, not Greece!
The Segesta theatre still hosts live performances by artists and orchestras. We'll have to try to catch one of them on a return trip!
A interesting fact about the Segesta Greek temple is that the city it served wasn’t even Greek, as this area of Sicily was inhabited by the Elymian people.
This wonderful relic from the Doric architectural era fortunately survived the Seige of Segesta that occurred around 397 BC.
We had a beautiful drive to our next destination.
Posso...?
(Can I...?)
Erice
Day 3 - November 14, 2024
We left Segesta and drove to the historic town of Erice. The lovely city center sits on top of Mount Saint Julian. Our first stop was an amazing buffet lunch featuring traditional Sicilian dishes and regional specialties, including wine, of course! Our host, Mark, gave an informative description of each dish and it was impossible not to try everything. We were warned, however, to save room for dessert!
While Mark is a great culinary host and assistant, he is an even more talented artist. He had his original artwork and prints of beautiful scenes from Sicily available for purchase. I recognized this view from Palermo and had to buy the print. The fact that it fit easily in my luggage weighed into my decision!
Maria Grammatico has a fascinating story to tell. She learned the art of working in almond paste and marzipan in a convent. She left the convent in 1963, and later opened her own pastry shop, La Pasticceria di Maria Grammatico, Her story and recipes are shared in the book, Bitter Almonds. (You can find it on Amazon if you don't get it from Maria.)
Lunch was followed by a fun, interactive baking experience with renowned pastry chef, Maria Grammatico. Maria owns La Pasticceria di Maria Grammatico in Erice and is one of the most famous pastry chefs in Sicily. She prides herself in using only locally-sourced ingredients and Sicilian almonds from Avola to make her pastries, jams, and marzipan. We made Maria's homage to St. Agatha, almond boobie cookies, and "uglies" using the same dough. There is definitely a refined technique to forming the dough cones and only a few in our group accomplished it! As the cookies baked, Maria demonstrated the proper way to stuff a cannoli and it doesn't involve a pastry bag! She insists that to be an authentic Sicilian cannoli, the filling must be sheep's milk ricotta that is spooned into the fried dough. We all enjoyed the sweet treats that were served with marsala wine.
It's time to explore medieval Erice!
While strolling through Erice, it was hard to wrap my head around the historic integrity of the structures we saw. It is prevalent throughout Sicily and much of Europe and is one of the reasons we travel outside of the U.S. We can't experience nor truly appreciate "ancient" history at home. Many of these structures have survived earthquakes and invasions throughout many centuries. Their stories have been written and it's amazing to be able to step into their pages.
Facts about Erice:
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The ancient Greek name of Erice was Eryx
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It changed names a couple of times until in 1934 it changed from Monte San Giuliano to Erice.
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Erice was known as the town of one hundred churches. Even today many are visible and some are open for worship.
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The current population is around 28,000.
Serene street
The Castello di Venere (Castle of Venus)
Exiting this medieval town and thankful for the memories.
Serene street
WOW!
A Trapani Tease
After leaving Erice, Alessandro drove us to Trapani where we spent the night. After checking into our hotel, the group took a short city walk. Thanks to Stephanie, we were lucky enough to be invited into the Church of the Souls of Purgatory where the 20 sculptural floats used for the Mysteries Procession of Trapani are displayed. This ancient event is celebrated every Good Friday in Trapani and depicts the events of Christ's Passion and death.
The group met for rooftop drinks/snacks back at the hotel and afterward Kevin and I had dinner at Pizza & Pizza. It's a casual restaurant with a variety of pasta, pizza and vegetarian dishes, plus adult beverages. We knew it was a good dinner choice because our guides were eating there, too.
Our hotel for tonight and tomorrow.
