CHIESA MADRE

Built at the end of the XVII century as a small, rural church it was rebuilt around 1850 and restored many times before taking on its present appearance with a simple façade livened up by the warm colour of the neoclassical entrance door. Inside the single nave, there are some valuable sculptures and one of the many copies of the Madonna di Custonaci; the original fifteenth century painting on a wooden panel is in the Sanctuary of the Madonna in Custonaci: This Madonna Lactans - Our Lady of the milk has been worshipped for centuries all over Erice’s surrounding countryside. The church is dedicated to the Beata Vergine Maria del Carmelo, patron saint of the city who is solemnly celebrated on the 16th of July