Castello della Colombaia
The Dovecote (also called Peliade Tower) is an ancient medieval fortress situated on a small island at the eastern end of the port of Trapani. It is composed of four superimposed levels, of which the first used as a cistern, with original entrance on the second floor. It is one of the best examples of military architecture in Sicily, although it is not a real castle, but a guard post. It is accessed by a road that runs along the right side of the building and ends in a courtyard at the end of which there are two chapels. The island on which stands the Castle is now completely abandoned and the main building is unsafe: all openings have been bricked in fact. According to legend, The Dovecote is the work of the Trojan exiles landed in Trapani in the thirteenth century BC, but there is no evidence of this: the first historical documents make up the building to the First Punic War, by Amilcare Barca. The Arabs restored the fortress and used it as a lighthouse. Rebuilt by the Aragonese in the current octagonal shape, it was enlarged in the fifteenth century and became a fortress under Charles V. It was turned into a prison by the Bourbons, between 1821 and 1860. Used as a prison until 1965, then fell into a state of neglect.
