The cobbled streets are the original pavings of Erice: from the older pavings made exclusively of stones or simple guides, to those “square shape” designed in the 19th century by the engineer Girolamo Varjo and made of polished slabs, with an elongated hexagon shape, called chains, which frame the stones both to hold the inner part and to create effective prospective effects, giving a distinctive aspect to the street.
Sometimes the rows of slabs get thicker to facilitate the transit of wheeled vehicles.
In Erice typical are the narrow streets, so-called “venule”, “vaneddi” in local dialect, namely narrow alleys, also with steps, built for defence and for mitigating the effects of winds. Really fascinating are the glimpses of the sea which some of them offer.
