Erice: la cinta muraria, le porte e i percorsi extra-moenia su Monte San Giuliano. Rilievo, analisi grafica e interpretazioni digitali

The defensive system of ancient Erice, due to its strategic topographic location, took advantage of the site’s unique features, being protected towards the eastern plains and southern territories by a natural bulwark formed by its steep perimeter. Along the northwestern profile of the city, a series of wall segments interspersed with quadrangular turreted elements defended the various access points to the urban system, of which today some gates and postern remain, including Porta Trapani, Porta Carmine, and Porta Spada. Renowned for their monumental character, marked by the substantial dimensions of their structure, the so-called "Cyclopean" walls follow the geometric layout of the natural orography of the mountainous terrain on which the urban settlement of Erice stands. Following an original triangular layout, it developed on the summit of a hill and was surrounded by a massive curtain wall, even on the most rugged southeastern slope, where defensive walls, now almost entirely disappeared, ran along the nearly vertical rocky faces. Strategically positioned in a territory influenced by various cultures - from the Carthaginian presence on the western coasts to the Greek settlements in the south - the formidable walls of Erice reveal a heterogeneous and composite cultural and technological foundation in the wisdom of their construction. Utilizing modern surveying and digital drawing tools, this study aims to redefine the spatial configuration of the ancient walls of Erice, with particular focus on the eastern defensive system and its access points, such as the dilapidated Porta Castellammare, to highlight the strong correlation between the defensive system and the orography of the land it occupies, while attempting to contextualize the construction events within the historical framework and cultural influences that shaped its creation.