Annunziata, Erice

Annunziata is a Roman Catholic church in the historic centre of Erice, Sicily. It was historically attached to a Carmelite convent, founded in 1423. The adjoining convent buildings are now used as a hotel.

History

Situated just inside Porta Carmine, one of the entrances in the Elymian-Punic Walls of Erice, the church and convent were founded in 1423 by archpriest Bernardo Militari, who converted his own palazzo to house the Carmelite Order.
Originally built in Gothic style, the church contained six altars and side chapels founded by local noble families. Decorative features included Gagini school marble statues of the Annunciation and Archangel, a 1670 marble statue of Saint Albert by Giovanni Travaglia, and 18th-century oil paintings. In 1738 Pope Clement XII granted perpetual privileges to the high altar.
The convent was suppressed in 1866. After a period of disuse, the complex was restored and adapted for civic purposes, and the convent buildings are now occupied by the hotel Il Carmine. The church itself remains open for worship and forms part of the Diocese of Trapani’s heritage project Erice, la Montagna del Signore.