Castle of Venus

Castle of Venus
Castello di Venere
Erice, Sicily, Italy
The Castle of Venus, Erice
Site information
Type	Hilltop fortress
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Partially ruined, consolidated
Location
Coordinates	38°2′7.379″N12°35′31.992″E / 38.03538306°N 12.59222000°E / 38.03538306; 12.59222000
Site history
Built	12th century
Built by	Normans
Materials	Limestone

Castle of Venus (Italian: Castello di Venere) is a medieval fortress in Erice, built around the site of an ancient sanctuary of Venus Erycina at the summit of Monte Erice in western Sicily. ^{[1] [2]}

It stands on an isolated rocky outcrop at the south-eastern edge of the summit plateau of the mountain, separated from the town by a rock-cut ditch and overlooking the surrounding countryside and the Tyrrhenian coastline. ^{[3] [4]}

History

Main article: Eryx (Sicily)

A temple dedicated to the goddess of fertility and love stood on the castle rock from at least the 5th century BCE. ^[3] Originally associated with the Elymians, and later identified with Astarte, Aphrodite, and Venus, the sanctuary of Venus Erycina (Venus of Eryx) became renowned throughout the Mediterranean. A Roman coin from 57 BCE depicts the sanctuary as a small tetrastyle temple set on a rocky summit within a walled precinct, suggesting how the shrine was imagined in Roman iconography. ^{[5] [6]}

Ancient authors emphasise both the prestige of the sanctuary and the presence of its attendants. Strabo describes the temple of Aphrodite at Eryx as once “full of female temple-slaves” (ἱερόδουλοι) dedicated from Sicily and abroad, though their numbers had declined by his day, ^[7] while Cicero testifies to the wealth and renown of Venus Erycina. ^[8] Roman administration further placed the sanctuary under the collective care of seventeen Sicilian cities and established a special military corps of some 200 soldiers, the Venerii, to guard the temple and the town. ^[9]

Modern topographical speculation has sought to locate traces of these personnel within Erice: Matteo Tusa has proposed that the area of the Church of San Pietro, elevated above the surrounding ground, may have served as the garrison seat of the Venerii, while finds reported along Via San Francesco—including inscribed bricks with female names—have been interpreted (following the antiquarian Cordici) as possible evidence of the dwellings of the temple’s female attendants. ^[2]

The present fortress was constructed in the 12th century under Norman rule, when much of western Sicily was being fortified. ^[10] Built over the remains of the ancient sanctuary, it incorporated spolia from the earlier temple of Venus. ^[3] Within the castle precinct the small church of Santa Maria della Neve was established, reflecting the Christianisation of the former sacred site. ^[11]

Under Spanish rule, a new barracks complex (the Spanish Quarter) was begun but abandoned in 1632; thereafter the Spanish garrison was housed in the castle. ^[12] The fortress later served as a prison before falling into disuse. ^[2]

Architecture and features

The Castle of Venus displays a mix of elements from different periods. Notable features include:

• Entrance front: the west façade retains Guelph battlements and an entrance with a machicolation (piombatoio), a mullioned window (bifora), and the coat of arms of Charles V above the portal. ^{[13] [14]}
• "Well of Venus": a circular pit traditionally identified as the goddess’s pool was most likely a capacious grain silo, not a water well. ^[15]
• Building materials from the sanctuary: within the courtyard are Ionic column drums, frieze fragments and other architectural pieces, indicating reuse of materials from the ancient sacred precinct. ^{[15] [16]}
• Santa Maria della Neve: remains of a small medieval church inside the precinct, generally linked to the Norman phase of occupation. ^[16]
• Colombaia: a tower-like dovecote built into the fortified walls. ^[16] In antiquity, the sanctuary of Venus Erycina was associated with sacred doves, and ancient authors describe the festivals of the Anagogia and Katagogia, when flocks of pigeons were said to depart from and later return to the goddess’ temple. ^[17]
• Roman baths: remains of a small Roman-period bath installation (including a room lined with hydraulic mortar, a typical bath finish) identified during excavations in 1930–31. ^{[18] [19] [20]}

Access to the castle is by a stone ramp that replaced a drawbridge once linking the fortress to the Balio Towers; the ramp was built in the 16th century, filling the ditch between the lower fortified area (Balio) and the rock summit. ^[16]

Excavations

Archaeological excavations were conducted in the 1930s by the Cultural Heritage Office of Trapani. These investigations focused on identifying remains of the ancient sanctuary. More recent studies have found Greek pottery and burial areas, supporting the site's long-standing religious function. ^[21]

Conservation

A restoration project funded by the Sicilian regional government was completed in 2025. The initiative included structural stabilisation and the adaptation of interior spaces for potential museum use. Additional funding was allocated to improve accessibility and visitor infrastructure. ^[22]

Gallery

• 
  West elevation
• 
  Aerial view
• 
  Entrance ramp
• 
  Coat of Arms
• 
  Club UNESCO plaque
• 
  Roman coin depicting the temple
• 
  Site map of the Castle

References

1. "Venus Castle - Erice Virtual Tour". Comune di Erice. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
2. Tusa, Matteo (2017). Erice: Planning for Life. Erice: Self-published. ISBN   9788892667327.
3. Lietz, Beatrice (2022). "Erice. Fonti storiche e archeologiche". In Ampolo, Carmine (ed.). La città e le città della Sicilia antica: atti delle ottave giornate internazionali di studi sull'area elima e la Sicilia occidentale nel contesto mediterraneo (Pisa, 18–21 December 2012) (in Italian). Quasar. ISBN   978-88-5491-263-2. hal-03908782.
4. Nenci, G.; Vallet, G., eds. (1989). "Erice". Bibliografia topografica della colonizzazione greca in Italia e nelle Isole Tirreniche, Volume 7 (in Italian). Vol. 7. Pisa–Rome: École Française de Rome / Centre J. Bérard, Naples. pp. 349–378.
5. "Denarius of C. Considius Nonianus (RRC 424/1)". British Museum. Retrieved 19 September 2025. Mountain, on which stands temple (of Venus at Eryx), surrounded by wall with gate.
6. "Venus Erycina, Aedes (Extra Porta Collinam)". Digital Augustan Rome. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
7. "Strabo, Geography 6.2.6". LacusCurtius (U. Chicago). Retrieved 29 September 2025. Eryx … has a temple of Aphrodite … in early times [it] was full of female temple-slaves, who had been dedicated … by the people of Sicily and by many people from abroad.
8. "Cicero, In Verrem 2.2.22". Attalus. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
9. Tusa, Matteo (2017). Erice: Planning for Life (in Italian). Erice: Self-published. pp. [pp.] ISBN   9788892667327.
10. "Castello di Venere". Enjoy Sicilia. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
11. "Castello di Venere". Outdooractive. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
12. "Quartiere Spagnolo". Fondazione Erice Arte (in Italian). Retrieved 29 August 2025.
13. "Castello di Venere". Ministero della cultura (in Italian). Retrieved 28 September 2025.
14. "Castello di Venere". CulturaItalia (MiC) (in Italian). Retrieved 28 September 2025.
15. "Castello di Venere (virtual tour)". Comune di Erice (in Italian). Retrieved 28 September 2025.
16. "Il Castello di Venere". Fondazione Erice Arte (in Italian). Retrieved 28 September 2025.
17. William Smith, ed. (1875). "Anagogia". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Perseus Digital Library. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
18. De Vincenzo, Salvatore (2022). "Guida archeologica di Erice" (PDF) (in Italian). Unitus DSpace. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
19. "Erice: The Sanctuary of Venus Erycina (Sicily)". Freie Universität Berlin. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
20. Blasetti Fantauzzi, Chiara (2020). "Il santuario di Venere Ericina. Primi risultati delle indagini nel castello normanno di Erice". Fasti Online Documents & Research (in Italian). Infine, presso il muro perimetrale nord-ovest del castello, sono venuti alla luce una serie di ambienti con suspensurae, in parte mosaicati, che hanno fatto pensare a un edificio termale di età romana.
21. De Vincenzo, Salvatore (2015). "The fortification wall of Eryx: A new definition of the settlement's construction phases and topographic development in light of recent excavations." Analysis Archaeologica, vol. 1, pp. 103–116. link
22. "Erice, pronto il primo stralcio dei lavori al Castello di Venere". Telesud (in Italian). 10 March 2025. Retrieved 25 May 2025.

External links

• Virtual tour of the Castle of Venus – from the Comune di Erice