Stefania Guastella

Built starting from the first half of the fourteenth century and subjected to a total upheaval during the second half of the nineteenth century, Erice Cathedral underwent major changes for more than five centuries, thus constituting today an interesting example of a stratified church, a sort of figurative palimpsest, in which it is possible to read important moments of the history of architecture in Sicily. The cathedral is at the edge of the town centre, isolated, near the old ring of walls. The position indicates its defensive character, also confirmed by the presence of a tower that existed before the cathedral and very probably dates from the 13th century, used from the beginning both as a lookout point and as a bell tower. The exterior of the cathedral is constituted by a crenellated façade, the only residue of the fourteenth-century structure, which in a central position presents a fine portal with concentric ogival mouldings with zigzag decoration typical of the architecture of the period. To the original masonry there was added a raised pronaos, done in 1426, and two buildings with sloping roofs, also crowned by battlements, dating from the nineteenth century. The façade is concluded by a rose window, with openwork added in the second half of the nineteenth century and two high small rose windows, apparently dating from the fifteenth century. Although the nineteenth-century restoration radically also transformed the composition of the façade, it is above all on the inside that the result is amazing, thanks to the very rich stucco decoration that covers the ceilings.