Convento e Chiesa dell'Annunziata o del Carmine - Erice

The foundation of the church and the old Carmelite monastery dates back to 1423.

The interior of the church is generally reminiscent of Gothic architecture , while the side chapels show a mixture of architectural styles, the result of both later interventions and various stylistic trends, which in any case changed the original appearance.

At the end of the 19th century, the church underwent major internal and external transformations , when the facade was reworked and the floor, now composed of square tiles of black and white marble, was renewed.

The church faces the wide Piazza del Carmine , with stone pavement, and is adjacent to the military palace. It has a basilica floor plan with a single nave and side chapels built into the neighboring building. The portal on the facade is lined with stone iambs and has a round-arched window. The interior has groin vaults with ribs in the nave, divided into three bays by gently undulating arches.

On the main altar is a statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel with Child made of white marble, possibly from the Gaginesque school. Particularly interesting are the first chapel on the left of Gothic architecture with ribs and turned columns, and the second chapel on the right with frescoes, although faded by damp, depicting temples with colonnades, sacred furniture, rosettes, ribbons and festoons, draperies and flying representing cupids.

Willem Vandenameele