Church of Sant'Alberto

The Church of Sant'Alberto is first recorded in a notarial deed of 1423 and is dedicated to Saint Albert of Trapani, whom the people of Erice traditionally regarded as one of their own. In 1568 the Compagnia dei Bianchi (Company of the Whites) established its headquarters here, founding a Monte di Pietà to provide charitable loans to the poor and offering spiritual assistance to prisoners condemned to death. The church was enlarged in 1578 and again during the early 17th century, before being completed in its present form in 1646.

The single-nave church reflects these successive phases of construction. During the late 18th century its interior was enriched with white stucco decoration, while further ornamentation of the walls and vault was sponsored in 1794 by Don Giacomo Coppola. The high altar houses a marble statue of Saint Albert, donated in 1640 by Antonio Palma and attributed to the sculptor Nicolò Travaglia. Four side altars dedicated to Saint Vitus, Saint Lucy, Our Lady of Sorrows and the Four Martyrs illustrate the devotional traditions of the confraternity.

During the 19th and 20th centuries devotion to the saint declined, the confraternity was dissolved and the church fell into disuse. After the Second World War, the building served at different times as a social hall, artisan workshop and theatre. The church reopened for worship in 2007 following restoration. The marble statue of Sant'Alberto, which had stood in Piazzetta San Giuliano outside the Church of San Giuliano since 1951, was restored and returned to the church in 2015.