Travel Guide Segeste

Segesta, integrated in a group of hills, was, together with Erice, one of the richest and most flourishing centres of the Elymians' civilisation, refugees from Troy. The only shadow was Selinunte, its rival, the Punic city, to which it closed the access to the Tyrrhenian Sea and which it destroyed in 409 BC, with the help of the Carthaginians. During the first Punic war, Segesta was the first city to become Roman, although the Romans allowed it a great deal of autonomy. Then began a period of decadence for the city, during which it lost even its name, disappearing under the Vandal invasion. If you happen to be in the city between the1st and 3rd of May, you will attend the Feast of the Holy Crucifix, or Feast of the Abundance. A crucifix is carried in procession by representatives of guilds who march with rifles on their shoulders. A curious mixture of superstition and religion. In July and August, the theatre hosts a superb festival of classical concerts, with theatrical performances at sunset