Giardino del Balio - Erice

The garden of Balio is located 740 meters above sea level on the saddle that connects the northern and southern slopes of Mount Erice and closes the old medieval village to the east.

The construction was the result of an agreement between the municipality of Erice and the Bolognese Count Agostino Sieri Pepoli. This agreement provided for the construction of a public garden in exchange for the transfer of the ruins of the castle towers to the magnate who made it his residence.
The creation of this public garden dates back to the period when the new Italy of Savoie designed several public spaces in different parts of the island. The agreement was signed in 1872 and Count Agostino Pepoli rebuilt the pentagonal south tower, the walled curtain wall and landscaped the garden in the English style.

Typical are the hedges of Buxus sempervirens that modulate the light of the paths in the shade of Mediterranean and exotic specimens up to the spectacular belvedere where the sun rises. Among the dense vegetation and flower hedges, Balio offers views from several vantage points that embrace Trapani, the salt pans, the Aegadian Islands, the Stagnone Lagoon and the Marsala coastline on the south side.

On the other side overlook Monte Cofano and its golf , the mountains of Zingaro and the hills of the Erice countryside. Particularly important are the Fountain of Venus.

Willem Vandenameele