The Palace and the De Ballis Tower in Alcamo

The history of the De Ballis Palace and Tower in Alcamo

Palazzo De Ballis, in the heart of Alcamo, Municipality of the Free Municipal Consortium of Trapani, is an ancient and fascinating fifteenth-century building. The Tower is also annexed to the building, so that the entire complex of the Palazzo and the De Ballis Tower in Alcamo still appears today as the most beautiful and oldest attraction in the city.

Built in 1495, it was the residential palace of the De Ballis family, originally from Piacenza. Tommaso and Pietro Oddo from Monreale worked on the design and construction of this suggestive building, which thanks to the restoration work has withstood the passage of time, still showing itself today in all its original splendour.

The Palace is currently headquarters of the Musikè Cultural Association , which deals with promoting the diffusion of art, music and literature in the city.

The architecture of the Palazzo and the Torre De Ballis in Alcamo

Built at the end of the XNUMXth century, the Palazzo and the Torre De Ballis in Alcamo are examples of architecture in Spanish Gothic style .

The Palace and the Tower are covered in squared stone; the tiled roof of the building is sloping, while the whole building is dominated by the square-plan tower. The whole complex has balconies and the building is flanked by an east-facing courtyard.

The floor, solid and powerful earth, has a calcarenite portal surmounted by pilasters which overlooks Via Mariano de Ballis at n.21, while a little further on, at number 23, a second and smaller portal was added.

On the first floor of the Tower, you can admire a window with an architrave, while on the upper floor, there is a beautiful trifora inserted in a round arch; another mullioned window on the east wall overlooks the courtyard.
The upper part of the Tower is surrounded by battlements which, resting on small niches, create pointed arches: the upper floor of the Torre confers to Palazzo De Ballis the typical aspect of the crenellated castle.

The ground floor is now used as civilian homes.

What to do near the palace and the Torre de Ballis in Alcamo

Alcamo is a town of over 40.000 inhabitants, located in the Gulf of Castellammare, between the splendid city ​​of Palermo and the wonderful beaches of San Vito Lo Capo. You can stay in a large center like Alcamo, to spend an unforgettable holiday between art and nature.

The beauties of the area are innumerable: in the centre, in Alcamo, there is the Palazzo with the Torre De Ballis, from which you can start to explore the whole municipality. Located in Via Mariano De Ballis, the Palazzo can also be admired from Via Madonna dell'Alto and anyone who wishes can contact the Musikè Cultural Association which also organizes musical events in the city.

There are many civil and religious buildings to visit in Alcamo and to present them one can only make a partial list: the beautiful Palazzo Pia Opera Shepherd, Villa Luisa, the Church of San Tommaso and the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, are in fact just some of the artistic and historical attractions of the city. To discover all the others, it is essential to spend a stay in Alcamo, wandering through the streets of the center in search of many treasures, hidden in every street.
Every century has given Alcamo wonderful churches, such as the Church of Santa Maria della Stella of the fifteenth century, the sixteenth-century Church of Sant'Oliva with its marvelous High Altar, the seventeenth-century Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta or the 1700 Badia Nuova.

Even the twentieth century has left its traces in Alcamo, such as the Sanctuary of Maria Santissima dall'Alto which is located on Monte Bonifato or the Church of the Most Holy Saviour, actually built in the fourteenth century, but restored in 1942.
One last piece of advice for those arriving in Alcamo is not to forget a visit to the Castle of the Counts of Modica, one of the city's most beautiful military buildings.

Those who want to make a wider itinerary around Alcamo cannot miss a visit to Palermo, about 64 km away, where you can admire some of the most beautiful monuments of our country, such as the Church of San Cataldo, Palazzo Mirto and the Church of Santa Maria della Catena.

To spend even a few hours of pure relaxation by the sea, complete your tour of North Western Sicily with a stop in San Vito lo Capo, at the Zero Barriere beach or at the beach of Santa Margherita. Passing San Vito Lo Capo, you can reach Trapani.

How to get to the Palace and the De Ballis Tower in Alcamo

Alcamo, in the Free Municipal Consortium of Trapani, can be easily reached by train or by car.

By car, take the A29 Palermo-Mazara del Vallo until the exits for Alcamo Est or Ovest, about 4 km from the centre; by train, arrive at Punta Raisi station and continue for the next 20 km to Alcamo by bus or shuttle.

Once in the centre, the De Ballis Palace and Tower in Alcamo are located in Via Mariano De Ballis, in the north-eastern quadrant of the municipality.

© Daniele Pugliesi (WMIT), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; FGanci, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Giuseppe Calandrino, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons