Spanish Quarter (Erice)
| Spanish Quarter | |
|---|---|
Quartiere spagnolo | |
| Erice, Sicily, Italy | |
| File:Erice Sicily Italy 06.jpg The Spanish Quarter, Erice | |
| Coordinates | 38°2′29.33″N 12°35′24.18″E / 38.0414806°N 12.5900500°ECoordinates: 38°2′29.33″N 12°35′24.18″E / 38.0414806°N 12.5900500°E Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Type | Barracks |
| Site information | |
| Open to the public | Yes |
| Condition | Restored (2005) |
| Site history | |
| Built | 17th century (construction halted 1632) |
| Built by | Citizens of Erice, under Spanish rule |
| Materials | Limestone |
The Spanish Quarter (Italian: Quartiere spagnolo) is a former barracks in Erice, Sicily. Originally constructed to house soldiers under Spanish rule, it now serves as an exhibition space with permanent displays on the town's maritime history and traditional crafts.[1]
History
Construction of the barracks began in the first half of the 17th century. At that time the Crown enforced the obligation of posata, which required towns to provide free food and lodging for members of Spanish garrisons.[2]
To avoid billeting soldiers within the inhabited centre, the citizens of Erice levied a tax upon themselves to finance the construction of a barracks. It was built on a rocky plateau in the northernmost part of the city, near the Church of Sant'Antonio Abate, overlooking the coastline towards Monte Cofano.[1]
Work was halted in 1632, and the Spanish troops were instead quartered in the Castle of Venus.[1]
Folklore
Local tradition associates the unfinished barracks with the legend of the "Red Beret" (Italian: Berretto rosso; Sicilian: Birrittedda russa, lit. 'little red cap'). According to the account documented by Giuseppe Vito Castronovo, the site was long believed to be haunted by the ghost of a Spanish soldier who had been executed for a crime of passion.[3]
Historically, the legend served as a popular explanation for why the building remained a "monumental ruin" and was avoided by the local population for centuries, with locals claiming to see the soldier's red military cap tossed by the wind through the mountain's frequent mists.[3]
Restoration
The Spanish Quarter remained abandoned until the early 21st century. The building was structurally restored around 2005.[1] In the following decade the site was assigned to local cultural associations with support from European funding, which enabled its reuse for museum displays and cultural events.[4] It is now used as an exhibition space for parts of the ethnographic and anthropological collections of the Cordici Museum.[5]
Archaeology
Archaeological investigations carried out in 2002 on the northern slope below the Spanish Quarter revealed the remains of a small extra-urban sanctuary dating to the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC.[6] The site, arranged on terraced ground and centred on a rock-cut ritual pit (bothros), produced deposits of ash, animal bones—especially pigs—and ceramic offerings, indicating chthonic ritual activity. It has been identified as a thesmophorion associated with Demeter, forming part of the early religious landscape of ancient Eryx beyond the city walls.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Quartiere Spagnolo". Fondazione Erice Arte (in italiano). Retrieved 29 August 2025.
- ↑ "Cosa vedere ad Erice". Comune di Erice (in italiano). Retrieved 30 August 2025.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Castronovo, Giuseppe (1875). Erice, oggi Monte San Giuliano in Sicilia: memorie storiche. 2. Tipografia di Bernardo Virzì. pp. 158–160. Search this book on
- ↑ "Erice rinasce il Quartiere Spagnolo". Inchiesta Sicilia (in italiano). 23 June 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ↑ "What to see in Erice: five iconic places". VisitItaly. 28 February 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lentini, Ferdinando (2002). "Erice: il thesmophorion del quartiere spagnolo" [Erice: the thesmophorion of the Spanish Quarter]. Folder. Fasti On Line Documents & Research (in italiano): 167–175.
External links
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