Piazza Pretoria is at the limits of the district of
Kalsa, near the corner of
Cassaro with Via Maqueda, just a few meters from the
Quattro Canti, the intersection where all the four ancient quarters intersect, in the city of
Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
, region of
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, Italy.
History
At the center of the square is the
Fontana Pretoria; this fountain had originally been designed in 1554 by
Francesco Camilliani for the
Palace of San Clemente in Florence. The Senate of Palermo, in 1573, seeking to embellish this city with a grandiose monument purchased the fountain, and transported here.
The large fountain was meant for a large open space, and required several homes in this area to be demolished. The fountain was re-adapted to the site with the addition of new parts. By 1581, the fountain had been installed in this square, sporting sixteen
nude
Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and no ...
statues of
nymph
A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...
s, humans, mermaids and
satyr
In Greek mythology, a satyr (, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( ), and sileni (plural), is a male List of nature deities, nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. ...
s. The fountain has not always been admired. Since the 18th-century, due to the prolific nudity, some called this the ''Fontana della Vergogna'' (Fountain of Shame).
Description
Three of the four sides are enclosed by buildings: the
Praetorian Palace
The Praetorian Palace (, ) is a 15th-century Venetian Gothic architecture, Venetian Gothic palace in the city of Koper, in southwest Slovenia. Located on the southern side of the city's central Josip Broz Tito, Tito Square (at ''Titov trg/piazza ...
(the town hall) built in fourteenth century and renovated in nineteenth century;
the
Church of St. Catherine (end of sixteenth century);
and two baronial palaces,
Palazzo Bonocore and
Palazzo Bordonaro. On the fourth side of the square a staircase, flanked by two lions made with gray marble from Bilimbi, sculpted by Domenico Costantino and installed in 1877, descends to
Via Maqueda.
[Ricciardelli, Fabrizio (2008), ''I luoghi del sacro: il sacro e la città fra Medioevo ed età moderna: atti del convegno, Georgetown University, Center for the study of Italian history and culture, Fiesole, 12-13 giugno 2006''. David Brown Book Company (2008). p. 233.]
References
{{commons category, Piazza Pretoria (Palermo)
Pretoria
Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country.
Pretoria strad ...
Renaissance architecture in Palermo