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Teatro Gebel Hamed

The Teatro Gebel Hamed is a cinema and performance space in Erice, Sicily, housed in the 16th-century former Church of Saints Rocco and Sebastiano. Its name recalls the medieval Arabic name for Monte Erice, recorded in sources such as the 12th-century traveller and geographer Ibn Jubayr as Jabal Hamid, often rendered in European sources as Gebel Hamed.

History
The Church of Saints Rocco and Sebastiano was founded in 1576 in fulfilment of a vow made by the citizens of Erice to the two saints during the plague of 1570. The church was enlarged in 1610, and again in 1625 after a further outbreak of plague. Its design featured a sober late-16th-century portal, three naves supported by four columns, and seven altars including the high altar. The church itself, closed to worship for many years, was converted into a cinema in 1940 to house the municipal theatre, which until then had been located in the Palazzo dei Marchesi Pilati, part of the Palazzo Municipale complex on Piazza della Loggia. The project included modernising facilities (dressing rooms and restrooms), refurbishing the foyer and refreshment bar, upgrading the stage lighting area, replacing the heating and cooling system, and updating the suspended ceiling. ==Programming==
Programming
The Teatro Gebel Hamed hosts a variety of cultural events, including theatre, concerts, and film screenings. In 2024, the theatre was a venue for the Erice Estate festival, with events such as Borsellino is back, a film and dance performance, and concerts in the Festival Internazionale di Musica Antica. It also featured in the children’s cinema series Agosto al Cinema. In early 2025, the theatre hosted a residency by the Movin’Op opera company, culminating in a performance of Winterreise – Viaggio d’Inverno on 6 January. ==References==
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