Page 490 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

victories against the Bourbon forces in 1860, which opened the way to Palermo and

hence the rest of Sicily. The battle took place on the Salemi road, around 1km south of
Calatafimi and then 3km up a hill, the summit marked by a white obelisk. It’s
signposted “Ossario di Pianto Romana”, and named as such because the bones of the
fallen from the battle are collected here. They used to be on display in cases for the
edification of the local population; now they’re hidden behind commemorative tablets
underneath an Italian flag. The custodian might attempt an explanation of the history if

your Italian is up to it – a tip wouldn’t go amiss. The views outside, to Calatafimi
itself, Erice and the Castellammare gulf, are magnificent.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: CALATAFIMI

By bus Calatafimi lies 4km south of its train station, so it’s better to come by bus –

there are four services daily from Trapani.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING

Mille Pini Piazza F. Vivona 2 0924 951 260, hotelmillepini.com. A fittingly old-

fashioned hotel which has ten simple rooms with balconies and valley views, and a
restaurant where you can eat well for around €15 – overall, it’s a very nice place for a
quiet night in the sticks. €50

< Back to Trapani and the west

Trapani

Although predominantly modern, TRAPANI, the first of three major towns on Sicily’s
western edge, has an elegant old centre that’s squeezed into a narrow arm of land
pointing out to sea. Lent an end-of-the-line feel by its port, the town’s inconspicuous

monuments give no great impression of its long history. Nonetheless, Trapani
flourished as a Phoenician trading centre and as the port for Eryx (modern Erice),
profiting from its position looking out towards Africa. As an important stopover on the
sea routes linking Tunis, Naples and Aragon, the town played an enduring role
throughout the Middle Ages, when Europe’s crowned heads virtually passed each

other on the quayside. The Navarrese king Theobald died here of typhoid in 1270; two
years later Edward I of England touched down after a Crusade to learn he’d inherited
the throne, while Peter of Aragon arrived in 1282 to claim the Sicilian throne,
following the expulsion of the Angevin French. The city’s growth over the last century
has been founded on the development of salt, fishing and wine industries, though
severe bombardment during World War II has given rise to an excess of dull postwar
building around the outskirts.

Still, as a base for the rest of the west, Trapani can’t be beaten. It offers a good few