Museum Center "Antonio Cordici

Named after “Antonio Cordici”, it was established in 1876 and some archaeological finds belonging to various private collections were brought there. Since 2015 it has been permanently transferred to the new suitable and functional spaces of the former Convent of the Franciscan Friars Minor, for a modern enhancement of the archaeological, historical and artistic heritage of the City.   

The Museum Center is divided into the following sections: archaeological, historical-artistic, weapons and contemporary art, with exhibition spaces dedicated to temporary exhibitions. 

In the archaeological section there are finds from excavation campaigns of distinguished archaeologists, who tell the story of Erice in antiquity, both related to the cult of the goddess Astarte / Venus is the funerary world, with the findings of the equipment of the necropolis dated between the fourth and third centuries BC together with findings of the Norman-Swabian phase. 

There is also a rich section of paintings and sculptures of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries from religious complexes, such as the exceptional Annunciation by Antonello Gagini (1525), which was in the Church of the Carmine, commissioned by a nobleman from Erice.

IMMERSIVE VENUS

Since 2024, the ‘A. Cordici’ museum centre has been enriched with a new and extraordinary experience: Venus Immersive, which draws the spectator into the heart of the myth of the goddess Venus.

This video installation offers a new and evocative narrative about the Venus Ericina.

The immersive room, with priming on walls and floor, transports the spectator into an experience rich in visual and auditory stimuli, with the aid of images of the artefacts found where the temple once stood, the words that classical authors used to describe the splendour of the Goddess' sites, and sounds that evoke the splendour of the ancient myth. A true emotional map to understand the cult of Venus over time and in the Erice area.

Museum Center "Antonio Cordici

Museum Center "Antonio Cordici

Museum Center "Antonio Cordici

Museum Center "Antonio Cordici