All participants, as well as accompanying persons, are kindly asked to wear their identification badge at all times.
The locations of all housing facilities (Centre, Institutes and Hotels) are shown on the Erice map included in the documents you will receive upon registration.
BreakfastResidents in the I.I. Rabi, Eugene P. Wigner and Patrick M.S. Blackett Institutes will have breakfast on a self-service basis in the "coffee room" in the I.I. Rabi Institute. Participants housed in the hotels will have breakfast at their hotels.
SnacksCoffee, tea, milk, mineral water, fruit and sandwiches are available in the "coffee room" at the I.I. Rabi Institute at any time.
|
|
A list of restaurants will be distributed upon registration.
The local tap water is drinkable, however, you will find bottles of mineral water in your room (unless you are staying in one of the hotels). Empty bottles will be replaced by the room maid, free of charge. More bottles are available for all participants in the storage room at the I.I. Rabi Institute.
Self-service washing machines (and dryers) are available in the storage room at the back of the courtyard in the I.I. Rabi Institute.
A public telephone (and an automatic magnetic telephone-card dispenser) is located at the 1st Floor of the I.I. Rabi Institute. Magnetic telephone cards can be purchased at the "Tabacchi" shops.
Post and bank officesPigeon holes for incoming mail are located at the entrance hall of the I.I. Rabi Institute. The Post Office is in Via Guarnotta, 100 metres away from the I.I. Rabi Institute's entrance (on the way to the Eugene P. Wigner Institute). The Bank is in the main square (Piazza Umberto 1), facing the Nuovo Edelweiss restaurant. Bank hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Change can also be obtained at the Post Office (until 1:00 p.m.).
WeatherAs Erice is situated on the top of a mountain at an altitude of 750 metres, it is much cooler than at sea level. Therefore, we would advise you to bring some warm clothing. The weather is rather unpredictable in Erice and the temperature can suddenly change. |
|
|
According to legend, Erice, son of Venus and Neptune, founded a small town on top of a mountain (750 metres above sea level) more than three thousand years ago. The founder of modern history -i.e. the recording of events in a methodic and chronological sequence as they really happened without reference to mythical causes- the great Thucydides (5th century B.C.), writing about events connected with the conquest of Troy (1183 B.C.) said: "After the fall of Troy some Trojans on their escape from the Achaei on the sea towards the West arrived in Sicily by boat and as they settled near the border with the Sicanians all together they were named Elymi: their towns were Segesta and Erice". This inspired Virgil to describe the arrival of the Trojan royal family in Erice and the burial of Anchise, by his son Enea, on the coast below Erice. Homer (9th century B.C.), Theocritus (3rd century B.C.), Polybius (2nd century B.C.), Virgil (1st century B.C.), Horace (1st century B.C.), and others have celebrated this magnificent spot in Sicily in their poems. During seven centuries (XIII-XIX) the town of Erice was under the leadership of a local oligarchy, whose wisdom assured a long period of cultural development and economic prosperity which in turn gave rise to the many churches, monasteries and private palaces which you see today. |
|
| In Erice you can admire the Castle of Venus, the Cyclopean Walls (~800 B.C.) and the Gothic Cathedral (~1300 A.D.).Erice is at present a mixture of ancient and medieval architecture. Other masterpieces of ancient civilization are to be found in the neighbourhood: at Motya (Phoenician), Segesta (Elymian), and Selinunte (Greek). On the Aegadian Islands -theatre of the decisive naval battle of the first Punic War (264-241B.C.)- suggestive neolithic and paleolithic vestiges are still visible: the grottoes of Favignana, the carvings and murals of Levanzo. Splendid beaches are to be found at San Vito Lo Capo, Scopello, and Comino, and a wild and rocky coast around Monte Cofano: all at less than one hour's drive from Erice. | |
