Biblioteca Comunale "Vito Carvini"

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The collections of the Biblioteca Comunale “Vito Carvini” bring together centuries of Erice's documentary history, from books once held in the town's religious houses to the manuscripts of its historians and the surviving records of its civic institutions.

The foundation of the library

The origins of the library are closely connected with the political and religious changes that followed Italian unification. In 1866 religious corporations were suppressed and their property transferred or redistributed, making the collections of several of Erice's religious houses available to the municipality.

In 1867 the municipal council established a public library using books from San Francesco, the Carmine, San Domenico and the Capuchins. Material that had previously belonged to separate monastic and convent libraries was therefore brought together to form the nucleus of a civic collection.

The library was initially established in rooms of the municipal headquarters on Piazza della Loggia, where the civic administration had moved around 1861.

When the Palazzo Municipale was enlarged in 1874–75 through the incorporation of the neighbouring Palazzo dei Marchesi Pilati, the library was transferred into the newly annexed wing. It has remained associated with the municipal complex ever since.

Giuseppe Vito Castronovo and the early collection

The first director of the library was Giuseppe Vito Castronovo, who served from 1868 until 1893. A historian and bibliographer as well as a librarian, Castronovo organised the holdings assembled from the suppressed religious houses and compiled the first catalogue of the civic collection.

His association with the library is particularly significant because Castronovo was himself one of the historians whose work contributed to the preservation of Erice's past. His writings form part of a longer local tradition of recording the history, monuments, families and institutions of the town.

Castronovo's own manuscripts are represented in the historical holdings of the library alongside those of earlier Ericine chroniclers.

Vito Carvini

The library is named after Vito Carvini (1644–1701), one of the principal early historians of Erice, then known as Monte San Giuliano.

Carvini studied at the Jesuit College in Trapani, where he obtained a degree in theology. After serving as parish priest of San Nicolò in Trapani, he became archpriest of the Chiesa Matrice in Erice. He also held the ecclesiastical offices of Vicar Foraneo and Apostolic Protonotary.

His principal historical work was the manuscript Erice antica e moderna, sacra e profana, completed towards the end of the 17th century. Carvini continued and updated the historical narrative begun by the earlier Ericine historian Antonio Cordici, extending the record of Monte San Giuliano to his own time.

The manuscript documents the town's religious institutions, families, traditions, topography, antiquities and civic history and became an important documentary source for later studies of Erice. It is preserved in the municipal library that now bears Carvini's name.

Manuscripts and archives

The historical collections preserve the work of several generations of writers and chroniclers concerned with Erice. Alongside Carvini are manuscripts associated with Antonio Cordici, Teodori, Guarnotti, Bonaventura Provenzani and Giuseppe Vito Castronovo.

Among the notable works are Carvini's Erice antica e moderna, sacra e profana, Antonio Cordici's Storia di questa Regia Madrice and Bonaventura Provenzani's Storia Ericina. The library also holds the Ugo Antonio Amico and Giuseppe Pagoto fonds.

The documentary collections extend beyond historical manuscripts. The municipal historical archive preserves records from institutions including the Corte Foranea, Corte Capitaniale, Corte Giuratoria and the Decurionato, providing evidence for the religious, judicial and civic administration of the town. A photographic archive records aspects of more recent local history.

Together these collections make the library an important research resource for the history of Erice and its surrounding territory.

Ancient inscriptions

Among the more unusual objects preserved by the library are ancient Greek inscribed stone monuments originating elsewhere in western Sicily.

One is a dedication erected by Pasion Seisurion, son of Dekkios, a citizen of Segesta, and dated to 52 BC. Another is an honorific statue base from Roman Drepanum, modern Trapani, dating to the 3rd century AD.

Their presence broadens the scope of the collection beyond the written and archival heritage of Erice itself, preserving epigraphic evidence from the wider historical landscape of western Sicily.