Eugene P. Wigner Institute (Erice)

Eugene P. Wigner Institute
Istituto Wigner–San Francesco
Facade on Via San Francesco
Interactive map of Eugene P. Wigner Institute
AddressVia San Francesco, 91016 Erice (TP), Italy
LocationErice, Sicily, Italy
Coordinates38°2′10.28479″N 12°35′19.46904″E / 38.0361902194°N 12.5887414000°E / 38.0361902194; 12.5887414000
OwnerEttore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture
OperatorEttore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture
TypeTeaching, conference and exhibition venue
Construction
Opened1975

The Eugene P. Wigner Institute is a teaching, conference and exhibition venue of the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture (EMFCSC) in Erice, Sicily. It occupies the town’s former San Francesco convent, founded in 1364 after a papal bull issued in 1362.[1]

History

Main article: Spirito Santo, Erice

Count Francesco II Ventimiglia (“Franceschello”) established the San Francesco complex on the site of the Palazzo degli Abati, traditionally identified as the birthplace of Saint Albert of Trapani.[a][1][2] The Ventimiglia were among the most powerful baronial houses in 14th-century Sicily; Francesco II later served as one of the Four Vicars during the minority of Queen Maria.[3][4]

In 1975 (1975) the former convent was incorporated into the Foundation as the Eugene P. Wigner Institute (named for the Hungarian–American physicist and Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner); the complex was adapted for teaching and events.[5][6]

Facilities and use

The institute’s principal space is the Enrico Fermi lecture hall—named for the Italian Nobel laureate Enrico Fermi—alongside on-site accommodation for visiting scholars and students.[6] Its halls and cloister are used as a public venue for concerts, opera and exhibitions.[7][8]

In August 2025 the cloister hosted the first modern performance of Alessandro Scarlatti’s baroque opera Amor quando si fugge, allor si trova, conducted by Claudio Astronio in a production organised by MeMA (Mediterranean Music Association) with choreography by Emiliano Pellisari and the No Gravity Dance Company.[9][10][11]

The institute was also one of the venues for two significant art programmes in 2025. It hosted part of the exhibition Niki Berlinguer – La signora degli arazzi, curated by Claudio Crescentini and staged across three sites in Erice (Wigner Institute, the Cordici Museum and the Church of San Pietro).[12][13] From July 2025 to January 2026 the cloister and other locations in and around Erice formed part of Lobsteropolis in Erice by the British artist Philip Colbert—an open-air, town-wide display of sculptures and paintings installed between Porta Trapani, Piazza Matrice, the Balio Gardens, the Castle of Venus, the Wigner Institute and the Archaeological Park of Segesta.[14][15][16]

  • Adjoining Church of Spirito Santo
  • Cloister of the Eugene P. Wigner Institute
  • Exhibition and performance venue
  • Philip Colbert exhibition

Notes

  1. ^ Here Abati is a family name (degli Abati), not “abbots”; the palace is traditionally linked to the family of Saint Albert of Trapani (born Alberto degli Abati). Some local sources alternate the spellings Abati/Abbati.

References

  1. ^ a b Castronovo, Giuseppe (1872). I conventi di Erice oggi Monte S. Giuliano in Sicilia (in Italian). Palermo: Tip. E. Costa. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  2. ^ "La Chiesa dello Spirito Santo". Erice, la Montagna del Signore (in Italian). Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  3. ^ Norwich, John Julius (2015). Sicily: A Short History, from the Greeks to Cosa Nostra. London: John Murray. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-84854-897-8.
  4. ^ La Lumia, Isidoro (1867). "I quattro vicari. Studi di storia siciliana del XIV secolo". Archivio Storico Italiano. Serie terza (in Italian). 5 (1 (45)): 3–6. JSTOR 44453169. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
  5. ^ "Chiesa e Convento di San Francesco (Erice)". West of Sicily (in Italian). Retrieved 6 October 2025. Dal 1975 è una delle sedi della Fondazione "Ettore Maiorana", denominata Istituto Wigner–San Francesco.
  6. ^ a b "Location and Structures". Ettore Majorana Foundation & Centre for Scientific Culture. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  7. ^ "Erice Estate 2025 – Programma (piega interna/esterna)" (PDF). Comune di Erice (in Italian). Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  8. ^ "Erice Estate 2024". Comune di Erice (in Italian). Retrieved 6 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Erice Estate 2025 – Arte, Musica, Cultura e Sport". Comune di Erice (in Italian). Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  10. ^ "Erice si anima con "Summertime 2025"". Comune di Erice (in Italian). Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  11. ^ "Calendar". NoGravity Theatre. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  12. ^ "Mostra "Niki Berlinguer – La signora degli arazzi"". Comune di Erice (in Italian). Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  13. ^ "Inaugurata a Erice la mostra "Niki Berlinguer – La signora degli arazzi"". Comune di Erice (in Italian). Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  14. ^ "Erice Estate 2025 – mostre d'arte, scienza e storia nel cuore del borgo". Comune di Erice (in Italian). Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  15. ^ "'Lobsteropolis in Erice': Philip Colbert porta l'arte pop nel borgo medievale". exibart (in Italian). 10 July 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
  16. ^ "'Lobsteropolis in Erice', la mostra diffusa di Philip Colbert". Revenews (in Italian). 9 July 2025. Retrieved 11 October 2025.
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