The Balio Gardens (Giardino del Balio) are public gardens at the summit of

Monte Erice Monte Erice, or ancient Greek Mount Eryx, is a mountain of Sicily, in the province of Trapani. Location The mountain is to the east of Trapani and encompasses an area of 18.3 km2. The Lenzi River has its source on the mountain. The city ...

Erice Erice (; ) is a (municipality) contiguous with the provincial capital Trapani, in western Sicily. Its historic core occupies the site of the ancient city of Eryx, one of the most significant archaeological and religious centres in pre-Roman w ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. The gardens take their name from the ''Bajulo'', a magistrate who represented the sovereign authority following the

Norman conquest of southern Italy The Norman conquest of southern Italy lasted from 999 to 1194, involving many battles and independent conquerors. In 1130, the territories in southern Italy united as the Kingdom of Sicily, which included the island of Sicily, the southern thi ...

. The Bajulo resided in what is now known as the Balio Towers (''Torri del Balio''), which also served as a gatehouse to the nearby Venus Castle (''Castello di Venere''). The gardens are sited on 6 hectares of land surrounding the towers, previously used for grazing. At an elevation of approximately 750 metres, they overlook the

Strait of Sicily The Strait of Sicily (also known as Sicilian Strait, Sicilian Channel, Channel of Sicily, Sicilian Narrows and Pantelleria Channel; or the ; or , ' or ') is the strait between Sicily and Tunisia. The strait is about wide and divides the Ty ...

and much of what is now

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

province. The Balio Gardens are part of the Grandi Giardini Italiani network.

History

The Balio Gardens were created in 1872 by Count Agostino Sieri Pepoli who leased the Balio Towers and grazing land from the city in exchange for restoring the towers and developing a public garden. The gardens were designed in an English garden style, featuring Mediterranean and exotic plants, paths bordered by

Buxus sempervirens ''Buxus sempervirens'', the common box, European box, or boxwood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus ''Buxus'', native to western and southern Europe, northwest Africa, and southwest Asia, from southern England south to northern Morocco ...

hedges, and areas of woodland.

Features

Key features in the gardens include: * Fountains: The Fountain of Venus and the Bee (1933), and the Fountain of the Eye, located at the centre of a

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, plats, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the ...

. * Pepoli Turret (''Torretta Pepoli''): A neo-Gothic folly, originally created by Count Pepoli as a place for contemplation, set on a rocky platform to the east of the gardens. * Monuments: Busts of Giuseppe Coppola (patriot and civic leader) and Nunzio Nasi (politician and educator), as well as a Monument to the Fallen, commemorating those lost in war. In August 2020, a bronze bust of Giuseppe Pagoto (1875–1971), an Erice-born educator and historian, was added to the collection. * Outlooks: Viewpoints over

, the

Aegadian Islands The Aegadian Islands (; ; ; ; ) are a group of five small mountainous islands in the Mediterranean Sea off the northwest coast of Sicily, Italy, near the cities of Trapani and Marsala, with a total area of . The island of Favignana (''Aegusa'' ...

, the Stagnone Lagoon, Monte Cofano, and the surrounding landscape.

Restoration

The gardens were restored and enhanced between 2019 and 2024, following the allocation of €1.6 million in funding secured by the municipality of Erice. The project, led by Vincenzo Giacalone and landscape architect Pietro Pio Pedone, focused on improving biodiversity, removing invasive species, and enhancing visitor accessibility.

References

{{reflist

External links

Balio Gardens virtual tour – Comune di Erice

Bust of Giuseppe Coppola – Wikimedia Commons

Bust of Nunzio Nasi – Wikimedia Commons

Pepoli Turret (Torretta Pepoli) – Wikimedia Commons
Gardens in Sicily Parks in Italy Tourist attractions in Sicily Erice