Quattro Canti, officially known as Piazza Vigliena, is a
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
square in
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
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
; it is considered the center of the historic quarters of the city. The site is the intersection of two major streets in Palermo, the Via Maqueda and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele (also known as the
Cassaro), and at this intersection are the corners of all four of the ancient quarters (Cantons or Canti) of Palermo: the
Kalsa (SE);
Seralcadi (SW);
Albergaria (wW); and
Castellammare (NE). On the southwest corner stands the church of
San Giuseppe dei Padre Teatini. A few steps away along the flank of this church, behind the Southeast corner building, along Via Maqueda is the Piazza and
Fontana Pretoria, sandwiched between this church and
Santa Caterina. A few more steps reaches
San Cataldo and the ancient Norman church of
La Martorana.
About 500 meters west along the Cassaro is the piazza of the
Cathedral of Palermo and the adjacent
Palazzo Normani.
History
This small scale urban plan was laid out on the orders of the Spanish Viceroys between 1608 and 1620
[The Viceroy in 1608 was Juan Fernández Pacheco, duque de Escalona; there were four further viceroys before 1620.] by
Giulio Lasso and
Mariano Smiriglio.
The piazza layout is octagonal, four sides comprise the streets, while the remaining four sides are nearly symmetric, concave
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
facades, each with four stories with three full size statues in their centers. The street level up to second story feature four fountains, each dedicated to one the four seasons. The third stories have statues in niches of four Spanish rulers of Sicily; above them in roofline are their respective coat of arms. The fourth and top stories of the buildings have statues of four female patron saints of Palermo:
Christina,
Ninfa,
Olivia and
Agata).
The fountains were completed in 1630: Spring and Summer by Gregorio Tedeschi, while Autumn and Winter were sculpted by Nunzio La Mattina.
The Spanish kings were sculpted between 1661 and 1663 by Carlo Aprile. At the time the piazza was built, it was an early examples of town planning in Europe.
It is a key location in the Wim Wenders film 'Palermo Shooting.'
Gallery
File:Sommer, Giorgio (1834-1914) - n. 1314 - Palermo - Quattro cantoni.jpg
File:DSC00466 - PA - Quattro Canti -1608-1620- - Foto G. Dall'Orto.jpg
File:DSC00455 - PA - Quattro Canti -1608-1620- - Foto G. Dall'Orto.jpg
File:Palermo1(js).jpg, View of North Via Maqueda
Notes
{{Commons category, Quattro canti (Palermo)
Buildings and structures in Palermo
Baroque architecture in Palermo
Piazzas in Palermo