Next to the shrine is the former “Pilgrim’s House and Franciscan monastery” with architectural elements from the 1500’s and, inside, a staircase dating back to 1601.
Now used as the sanctuary’s museum, it contains works related to the cult of ‘Our Lady of Custonaci’, including a work from the workshop of Antonello Crescenzio (tempera on wood, 1541) and a wooden niche with a Madonna and Child Enthroned, of sixteenth century Sicilian manufacture, both depicting ‘Our Lady of Custonaci’.
Of all the sculptures and paintings, special attention must be given to the elegant and sturdy decorated wooden case which was used for the “transportation” to and from Erice of the precious painting of the Madonna di Custonaci. Designed by reverend Carlo Peraino, the case was constructed by cabinetmaker Giuseppe Loretta (1831).
