Venus Castle

Located on the top of Mount Erice, on the ruins of an Elymian-Phoenician-Roman temple, in an absolutely privileged position, stands the so-called "Castle of Venus".
In ancient times, Erice was known for its temple where the Phoenicians worshiped Astarte, the Greeks Aphrodite and the Romans Venus. Mount Eryx served as a reference point for navigators of which Venus soon became the protector. At night, a large fire lit in the sacred area served as a lighthouse. The fame of Venus Ericina became such that a temple was dedicated to her also in Rome and her cult spread throughout the Mediterranean.
What remains today of the ancient fortress was the work of the Normans who seem to have reused, for its construction, the material coming from the remaking of the temple of Venus Hercina.
In ancient times the castle was enclosed by towers, advanced fortification works linked together by two crenellated curtains and above all by a drawbridge, the same of which the Arab geographer Ibn-Giubayr mentions (XII century).