Top Historic Sights in Trapani, Italy
Explore the historic highlights of Trapani
Trapani Cathedral
Trapani Cathedral was built by order of Alfonso the Magnanimous in 1421 and was elevated to a parish in the second half of the fifteenth century. In 1844, when the Diocese of Trapani was created, the church was made its episcopal seat. Over the following centuries, the building was modified several times and its current appearance dates from the restoration of the eighteenth century by the architect Giovanni Biagio Ami ...Ligny Tower
Ligny Tower is a coastal watchtower built between 1671 and 1672 at a strategic position on the city"s western coast. Today, the tower is in good condition, and it is open to the public as an archaeological museum. Ligny Tower was built on a narrow strip of land on Trapani"s western coast, to defend the city from attacks by the Barbary corsairs. It was named after the Viceroy of Sicily, Claude Lamoral, 3rd Princ ...Madonna of Trapani
The Basilica-Sanctuary of Maria Santissima Annunziata (also called 'Madonna of Trapani') was originally built by the Carmelite Order in 1315–1332 and rebuilt in 1760. The church houses the skull of Saint Albert of Trapani in a silver statue crafted in the 18th century, and the relics of Clement of Ancyra. It houses a marble statue of the Madonna of Trapani (Our Lady with Child), which might be the work ...Agostino Pepoli Regional Museum
The Museo regionale Agostino Pepoli is an art, archaeology and local history museum in Trapani. Established in 1906-1908 as the civic museum by count Agostino Pepoli and initially based on the private collection of count Sieri Pepoli and Neapolitan paintings donated by general Giovanbattista Fardella, it is based in a former 14th century Carmelite monastery next to the Basilica-santuario di Maria Santissima Annunziata. In ...Colombaia Castle
According to several historical documents, the fortifications in Colombaia island were built first time around the 260 BC, During the first Punic war. The Roman army tried several times to conquer this island, succeeding only in 247 BC, although they left it shortly after and left the territory totally in disuse, with the Castle of the Dovecote which quickly became a nest of doves that would have given way to the pagan wo ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
Historic Site of the week
Palazzo Colonna
The Palazzo Colonna is a palatial block of buildings built in part over ruins of an old Roman Serapeum, and has belonged to the prestigious Colonna family for over twenty generations.
The first part of the palace dates from the 13th century, and tradition holds that the building hosted Dante in his visit to Rome. The first documentary mention notes that the property hosted Cardinal Giovanni and Giacomo Colonna in the 13th century. It was also home to Cardinal Oddone Colonna before he ascended to the papacy as Martin V (1417–1431).
With his passing, the palace was sacked during feuds, and the main property passed into the hands of the Della Rovere family. It returned to the Colonna family when Marcantonio I Colonna married Lucrezia Gara Franciotti Della Rovere, the niece of pope Julius II. The Colonna"s alliance to the Habsburg power, likely protected the palace from looting during the Sack of Rome (1527).
Starting with Filippo Colonna (1578–1639) many changes have refurbished and create a unitary complex around a central garden. Architects including Girolamo Rainaldi and Paolo Marucelli labored on specific projects. Only in the 17th and 18th centuries were the main facades completed. Much of this design was completed by Antonio del Grande (including the grand gallery), and Girolamo Fontana (decoration of gallery). In the 18th century, the long low facade designed by Nicola Michetti with later additions by Paolo Posi with taller corner blocks (facing Piazza Apostoli) was constructed recalls earlier structures resembling a fortification.
The main gallery (completed 1703) and the masterful Colonna art collection was acquired after 1650 by both the cardinal Girolamo I Colonna and his nephew the Connestabile Lorenzo Onofrio Colonna and includes works by Lorenzo Monaco, Domenico Ghirlandaio, Palma the Elder, Salviati, Bronzino, Tintoretto, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci (painting of The Beaneater), Guercino, Francesco Albani, Muziano and Guido Reni. Ceiling frescoes by Filippo Gherardi, Giovanni Coli, Sebastiano Ricci, and Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari celebrate the role of Marcantonio II Colonna in the battle of Lepanto (1571). The gallery is open to the public on Saturday mornings.
The older wing of the complex known as the Princess Isabelle"s apartments, but once housing Martin V"s library and palace, contains frescoes by Pinturicchio, Antonio Tempesta, Crescenzio Onofri, Giacinto Gimignani, and Carlo Cesi. It contains a collection of landscapes and genre scenes by painters like Gaspard Dughet, Caspar Van Wittel (Vanvitelli), and Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Along with the possessions of the Doria-Pamphilij and Pallavacini-Rospigliosi families, this is one of the largest private art collections in Rome.