Teatro Gebel Hamed

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The Teatro Gebel Hamed forms part of a group of buildings whose uses have repeatedly changed over more than four centuries. Its history connects the plagues of early modern Erice with religious and charitable institutions, the town's former municipal theatre and the present-day Cordici Museum.

A church built after the plague

The Church of Saints Rocco and Sebastiano was founded in 1576 in fulfilment of a vow made by the citizens of Erice during the plague of 1570. Both saints were traditionally invoked for protection against epidemic disease.

The original church was subsequently enlarged in 1610 and underwent further expansion in 1625 following another outbreak of plague. The resulting building had three naves supported by four columns and contained seven altars, including the high altar. Its exterior retained a relatively sober late-16th-century portal.

Although its later conversion substantially changed the function of the interior, the origins of today's theatre therefore remain embedded in the religious history of 16th- and 17th-century Erice.

From convent to conservatory

In 1636 Father Matteo Curatolo of the Third Order of San Francesco di Martogna established a small convent in a building adjoining the church.

Plans for its expansion were interrupted in 1658 following the suppression of small convents ordered by Pope Innocent X, and the complex subsequently entered a period of neglect.

A new use was found in 1752, when Giuseppe Stella, Bishop of Mazara, adapted the former convent as a conservatory for penitent women. The conservatory and church were connected internally by a covered passage.

The conservatory survived until 1915, when it was dissolved and its property transferred to the municipality by the Congregation of Charity. The former convent buildings were subsequently occupied by the Pretura and conciliation court until 1965.

Following restoration carried out between 2011 and 2015, these adjoining buildings became the home of the Museo Civico “Antonio Cordici”.

From church to municipal theatre

Erice already possessed a municipal theatre before the Teatro Gebel Hamed was created. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries it occupied the upper level of the municipal complex incorporating Palazzo dei Marchesi Pilati on Piazza della Loggia.

By the 20th century the Church of Saints Rocco and Sebastiano had been closed to worship for many years. In 1940 the former church was converted into a cinema, allowing the municipal theatre to move from Palazzo Pilati to its present location.

This transfer created a direct historical connection between two civic buildings that remain only a short distance apart: the Palazzo Municipale, where Erice's municipal theatre was first housed, and the former church that continues its theatrical function today.

The connection with the Cordici Museum

The theatre and the present Cordici Museum occupy adjoining parts of what was once a connected religious complex.

In 1752 the former convent, then being converted into a conservatory, was linked internally to the Church of Saints Rocco and Sebastiano by a covered passage. A bridge-like connection between the buildings remains visible today, recalling the period when the two structures functioned together.

The buildings subsequently followed very different paths: the church became the municipal theatre in 1940, while the former convent and conservatory passed through judicial uses before becoming the Cordici Museum in the 21st century.

Together, the two buildings preserve the physical outline of a religious complex whose functions have changed repeatedly since the 17th century.

Why “Gebel Hamed”?

The theatre's modern name recalls the Arabic history of Monte Erice.

The 12th-century Andalusian traveller and geographer Ibn Jubayr recorded the mountain as Jabal Hamid. The Arabic jabal means mountain, while the name was later rendered in European sources as Gebel Hamed.

Using the name for the municipal theatre therefore preserves a reference to the medieval Arabic name of the mountain on which Erice stands.

The theatre today

The Teatro Gebel Hamed continues to function as a venue for theatre, music, cinema and other cultural events.

A major programme of refurbishment received regional funding of approximately €226,000 from the Regional Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity. The project included improvements to dressing rooms and restrooms, refurbishment of the foyer and refreshment area, upgrades to the stage-lighting facilities, replacement of the heating and cooling system and renewal of the suspended ceiling.

These interventions allowed the historic building to continue its modern role as one of Erice's principal indoor cultural venues.