St. Martin Church

It was built by Roger the Norman. It is traditional that kings were brought to this church when they came to Erice and that magistrates gathered there.

The very simple salient façade contrasts with the sumptuousness of the portal, which is baroque with a richly decorated niche housing the half-bust of the Holy Bishop Martin.
On the ornamental side columns, above the volutes, two Holy Souls of Purgatory stand amidst purifying flames. They are a reminder that the Congregation of Purgatory was annexed to the ancient Congregation of St Martin in 1517 for the purpose of the suffrage of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

The interior today has a three-nave basilica plan, with monolithic columns of Tuscanic order made of grey marble.

The 'Congrega' was the meeting hall of the Confraternity of St Martin and Purgatory: it is a very elegant room, decorated with stuccoes of clear Serpottine derivation and frescoed by the Manno brothers. The 17th-century wooden carved altar was the church's old one.