Baida Castle
The Castle of Baida is located in the territory of Castellammare del Golfo, in the small rural hamlet of Balata di Baida, at the foot of Monte Sparagio.
The name of the place probably derives from the Arabic "la Bianca", with reference to the ancient settlement at the Rocche Bianche.
The castle of Baida dates back to the end of the 13th century: in 1355 it was already listed among the lands and castles of the island. A Latin inscription on the entrance portal remembers that Ferdinand of Bourbon passed through the castle of Baida.
The castle of Baida is today an agricultural masseria and of the ancient construction only fragments of a crenellated wall covering the portal of Gothic-Catalan type with a lowered arch with diamond ashlar ferrule surmounted by a small bell gable, and the ruins of two towers, one octagonal and the other quadrangular. Through the portal you reach a large rectangular courtyard around which the houses, warehouses, stables and the small church of Sant’Anna are arranged. Following some restoration work, a fresco of the Madonna of Trapani was unearthed located behind the altar of the church.
