Palazzo De Ballis | |
---|---|
General information | |
Architectural style | Spanish gothic |
Town or city | Alcamo |
Country | Italy |
Coordinates | 37°58′54″N12°58′01″E / 37.9816°N 12.9670°E |
Construction started | 1495 |
Client | De Ballis Family |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Tommaso and Pietro Oddo |
Palazzo De Ballis is a 15th-century historical building of Spanish Gothic architecture; the Tower De Ballis is a part of it. It is located in the town centre of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
According to the historian Pietro Maria Rocca the palace would date back to 1495. [1]
It belonged to the De Ballis family, noblemen native of Piacenza, who built it, and was made after the designs of Tommaso and Pietro Oddo, (father and son) who were from Monreale (Palermo).
After the extinction of the De Ballis, and the property transfer to the family Papè and Polizzi, the part including the tower belongs to the D’Angelo family, while the other part belongs to the family Castrogiovanni-Iannitto. [2]
Giuseppe Polizzi describes the palace in this way:
On the first floor the square tower has a window with an architrave and small corbels; on the second floor, there is a three-light-window inserted into a round arch; on the eastern side of the court yard there is a mullioned window. The tower is surrounded by merlons, leaning on little niches sustaining pointed arches.
In ancient times the main door was in the middle; in the 18th century it was substituted by two new doors: [2] the one at the street number 21, has a calcarenite portal with two bases surmounted by lesenes; the second, at the number 23, is smaller and has two irregular bases, owing to the restoration of the road surface; you can enter the tower through a staircase from the entrance at the house number 23.
On the first floor there are four balconies, two of them have stone galleries with fluted corbels; on the south side, on the second floor, there are two balconies with two stones galleries too; on the ground floor, in via Madonna dell’Alto, there are three doors and three windows of modern residential buildings. The first floor has four small balconies, and another one on the second floor; at the corner there is the De Ballis family’s coat of arms, with a banded shield having three balls. [2]
Inside the palace there is an elegant court yard, with a staircase leading to the first floor; the doors here are lacquered and their panels with glasses, painted with flowers and different figures. [4] Inside the hall there are some frescoes that were restored by professor Giuseppe Ganga in 1985, [2] representing multicolour flowers and landscapes. The centre of the vault is surmounted by a rose window, instead, and the bedroom is embellished by a canopy bed and some frescoes on the ceiling.
In 2005 the palace and its tower were restored and have complied with the originary characteristics of the building: these works were entirely at the D’Angelo family’s own expense.
It has its own seat in this building and its purpose is to promote art and music, in order to contribute to the growth and interior beauty, of teenagers above all, through exhibitions, concerts, music and singing courses, music therapy, besides the diffusion of literary subjects and Maths.
Another goal is to recover tastes, uses and traditions of our past; they give dinners, and you can also make a guided visit at Palazzo de Ballis.
Alcamo is the fourth-largest town and commune of the Province of Trapani, Sicily, with a population of 44.925 inhabitants. It is on the borderline with the Metropolitan City of Palermo at a distance of about 50 kilometres from Palermo and Trapani.
Palazzo Palmerini is a 16th century civic building located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani: the Palace is situated at Via Buonarroti.
Santa Maria del Rosario is a Catholic church in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
Sacro Cuore is a Catholic church located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
San Giuseppe Lavoratore is a Catholic Church located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
Carlo Cataldo was an Italian historian, poet, and teacher.
The Tower Calandrino is located in the old town of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
The House of Ciullo d'Alcamo is a residential building located in the town centre of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani, Italy.
Palazzo Pastore is a civil building located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
Palazzo Rocca is a civil building located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
Villa Luisa is a mansion located in the town centre of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
Palazzo Fraccia is a mansion in the town centre of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
Palazzo Rossotti-Chiarelli, dating back to the 18th century, is located in via Rossotti in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani. It is in via Rossotti: in the same street you can also visit the Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore(o Badia Grande).
Palazzo Di Gregorio is a building located at via Dante in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani; it was built at about the 17th century.
The building of the ex Loggia Comunale is located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.
Piazza Ciullo is the main square of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani, Sicily, Italy. Being located in the very town centre, it is a meeting place for people and an attraction for important events, especially for teenagers.
Piazza Bagolino is one of the main squares of Alcamo, in the province of Trapani. It is located near the town centre and it is one of the town attractions.
The Town hall of Alcamo, also called Il Municipio, is a public historical building located in Piazza Ciullo, in the town centre of Alcamo.
Piazza della Repubblica is the largest square in Alcamo, a town in the province of Trapani. It is located in the town centre.
Palazzo De Stefani is an ancient residential building located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.