Civil buildings There are several historical civil buildings in Alcamo: •
House of Ciullo d'Alcamo (3, Piazzetta Leopardi, near the
Church of Saint Francis of Assisi) •
Palazzo De Ballis (Via Mariano de Ballis): built in the 16th century with a square tower with
battlements, adorned with a round arch that contains two windows, a double lancet and one triple lancet; it was probably designed in 1490 by Tommaso and Pietro Oddo It was located in the old district of San Vito and inside it there was the painting of Our Lady of Honey () dated 1300 and belived to be the oldest in Alcamo; this was later moved into the
Saints Paul and Bartholomew's Church. •
Ex Church of Saint James of the Sword (): built before 1529, it was enlarged between 1625 and 1636.
15th century •
Church of Saint Thomas (): the date of its construction is uncertain, probably the first half of the 15th century. It is faced by a great portal with geometrical decorations. •
Church of Saint Mary of Jesus (): built in the 15th century and enlarged in 1762. It holds the body of the Blessed
Arcangelo Placenza from Calatafimi. • Ex
Church of Ex Church of Our Lady of Rescue (): built in the 15th century. • Church of
Saint Vito (): it gave the name to the ancient district of San Vito and to the street where it is located. It was built before 1492 and, according to Ignazio de Blasi (a historian from Alcamo), it was founded by a member of the Confraternity of the Annunciation, together with a hospital for poor people next to it. It was restored in 1922 and again some decades ago; there is nothing old in it and today is used by
Eastern Orthodox Church Christians. •
Church of the Holy Spirit: quoted in a deed dated 1491, as it is affirmed by the historian
Ignazio De Blasi. It is located next to the first cemetery, on the North side.
16th century •
Church of the Holy Saviour ( or ""): built in the 14th century baroque style and rebuilt around the middle of the 15th century and again between 1690 and 1697. Inside there are pictures by Novelli dated to the mid-17th century. •
Church of Saint Olivia (): built in 1533 and renovated in 1724. Inside there is a picture by
Pietro Novelli on the main altar (
Sacrificio della Messa dated 1639) •
Church of the Holy Crucifix (or Saint Francis of Paola) (): built in 1550, and now the parish of
Saint Francis of Paola •
Church of the Annunciation (): built in the 14th century, and rebuilt in 16th and 17th centuries; collapsed in 1866 • ex
Church of Saint Nicholas from Bari (): built in 1430, demolished and rebuilt in 1558 •
Church of Saint Augustine: built 1589
17th century in a photo of the early years of the 20th century •
Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption was built during the 14th century and rebuilt in 1669; the present façade was added in 1786; the portal and the bell tower are the only remains of the original 14th century church. It is in the centre of the town, near Piazza Ciullo. The interior is tripartite and contains frescoes by
Guglielmo Borremans. In the
apse and side chapels there are works by
Antonello Gagini, called "Madonna with the Saints Philip and James",
Crucifix and
Transit of the Virgin; In 2010 the
Sacred Art Museum was opened: it contains many works from other churches. In the first chapel, there is a modern architectural work dedicated to Don Rizzo (founder of the homonymous bank), designed by the architect
Paolo Portoghesi. •
Church of Saint Francis from Assisi (): built 1224–1226, demolished and rebuilt between 1608 and 1648. Inside it there is a marble ancon, probably by Domenico Gagini, and two sculptures reproducing the Maddalena and Saint Mark, both ascribed to Antonello Gagini. •
Church of Saints Paul and Bartholomew (): built between 1615 and 1689, it has characteristic baroque features and holds "Madonna del Miele" (made about the year 1300). •
Church of Our Lady of Graces (): built in 1619 and enlarged between 1626 and 1636 •
Church of Saint Anne (): built 1630–1634 •
Church of Saint Peter (''''): 19, Via Barone di san Giuseppe. It was built in 1367 and reconstructed in 1645–1649, then enlarged in 1742 after a design by
Giovanni Biagio Amico, an architect. The artistic portal (1649) is on the main door. The roof collapsed during the
1968 Belice earthquake; it was rebuilt 20 years later, costing 300 millions lira from Genio Civile. •
Church of the Saint Guardian Angel or Sheltered People ( or ): built 1647 •
Church of the Holy Family: built in the 16th century in Piazza Ciullo •
ex Collegio dei Gesuiti (''''): built in the 17th century; in the 18th century an arcade was added •
Church of the College of Jesuits or Church of Jesus ('
or ' ): built between 1684 and 1767 •
Church of Our Lady with a Chain (''''): built in 1661, it hosts a portrait of Our Lady with a Chain, ascribed to Giuseppe Renda (18th century) •
Ex Church of Saint Catherine of Monte di Pietà (''''): in Corso 6 Aprile, at the corner of Via Barone di San Giuseppe. Its façade, with a simple portal, was made in 1608 and the painting of
Saint Catherine of Alexandria (1621), by
Giuseppe Carrera or
Giacomo Lo Verde, is now kept at the
Sacred Art Museum.
18th century •
Saints Cosma and Damiano's Church ('
or '): built in 1500 and rebuilt between 1721 and 1725. It has a
baroque style and inside it there are two sculptures by
Serpotta. •
Badia Nuova (''''), not to be confused with the
homonymous Church, was built in 1531, demolished in 1699 and rebuilt in the first half of the 18th century. There is a picture by
Pietro Novelli and some allegorical representations by
Giacomo Serpotta. • Ex
Church of Ecce Homo (''''): built 1750 •
Church of Our Lady of the Rosary (''''): built in 1660 and reconstructed in 1761
20th–21st centuries •
Sanctuary of Most Holy Mary of the Height (''''): built in 929 and reconstructed in the 20th century •
Sanctuary of Maria Santissima del Fiume, on
Strada Statale 113, just after
Autostrada A29 junction
Alcamo Ovest. Built in the 1920s, it is frequented by believers in May. • The small
Church of the Most Holy Saviour: already known in 1379, last restored in 1942; its façade was rebuilt in
gothic style • The small
Church of Madonna del Riposo: built in 1656 and restored in 1939; located at the end of the homonymous street •
Church of Saint Joseph the Worker (''''): built in 1947 •
Church of the Holy Souls in Purgatory (''''): built in 1813, demolished and rebuilt in 1958 •
Church of the Holy Heart (''''): built in 1967 •
Church of Jesus Christ the Redeemer (''''): built in 2006 •
Church of Madonna of the Good Thief Military buildings Military buildings in Alcamo include: by night • The
Castle of the Counts of Modica (or "Castle of Alcamo"): probably built in the 14th or 15th century by the
Peralta family and then completed by the feudatories
Enrico and
Federico Chiaromonte. In 1535 the emperor
Charles V lodged there. It was a possession of the
Cabreras and then of the
Counts of Modica, until 1812. Later, during the
Reign of Italy and until 1960, it was used as a prison. It has a rhomboidal shape, with four towers: two quadrangular at the corners and the other two are connected by curtains and are cylindrical. In each tower there were a torture room for prisoners, rooms for sentinels and for passing guest sovereigns. One of the particular characteristics of the castle is given by the thick walls which bound it and that in old times defended it from the enemies' attacks extremely well. •
Castle of Ventimiglia: situated on the top of
Mount Bonifato. It is a medieval castle and today there are only some parts of the walls, the primary tower and the dungeons. It took the name from Enrico Ventimiglia, who declared he had built it just for defence, though according to some interpretations, it would date back to a previous period. • The
Calatubo Castle, outside the town but inside its territory and on the road leading to Palermo, is a fortress built in the early Middle Ages. The homonymous village of Calatubo stood nearby and its commerce was based on the exportation of cereals and millstones. In the same place there is an old necropolis dating back to the 6th century BC. • The watchtower located in the town centre, in Corso 6 Aprile, next to the
Church of Saint Maria del Soccorso, opposite the Mother Church. Its construction dates back to 980 A.D. and is the oldest architectural work existing in Alcamo, in perfect preservation conditions. Later the tower was bought by the diocese (1400) and used as a bell tower for the near Mother Church which, at the time, didn't have one. • The archaeological site in
Contrada Mulinello, where they have discovered finds dating back to the
Mesolithic period; they discovered here the fossilized shell of a turtle,
Geochelone sp, the
Skeleton of a
dwarf elephant, dating back to 260,000 years ago, They are seven kilometres far from Alcamo and next to the boundary with the territory of
Castellammare del Golfo, a small town which shares this naturalistic attraction with Alcamo. According to the narration given by
Diodorus Siculus, they were created by the nymphs to favour
Eracle's rest during his trip from
Piloro to
Erice.
Hinterland The surrounding areas include interesting touristic and historical locations like
Segesta and
Gibellina. The old fishing village of
Scopello, from Alcamo, has been referred to as having a remarkable seaside. Another small town considered worth visiting is
Castellammare del Golfo which is between these two places. == Society ==