Walking through the center of Palermo is inevitable passing near Piazza Pretoria.

From there you can admire the Quattro Canti, orthogonal square of high value, and the Fountain of Shame, built in the fifteenth century.

FOUNTAIN DELLA VERGONA (OF SHAME) OR PIAZZA PRETORIA

The Fountain of Shame was built in 1554 by Francesco Camilliani in Florence, but in 1581 was moved to Piazza Pretoria in Palermo.

It was disassembled into 644 pieces of which 112 were packed in 69 chests. Several homes were demolished to make way for the monumental achievement. The fountain has been nicknamed "of the shame" because of the nudity of the figures.

There are a number of small and medium-sized tanks decorated with classical statues of men and women. These represent gods and mythological figures: outside there are statues symbolizing the four rivers of Palermo: Oreto, Papireto, Maredolce and Gabriel, in the second order are present, however, the statues of Greek gods: Hercules, Venus, Apollo, Bacchus, Diana, Pomona and Adonis, and finally, at the center, we find Triptolemos, Vertumnus, Orpheus, Ceres, the Goddess of Abundance and Charity.

QUATTRO CANTI - FOUR CORNERS

The Four Corners were built between 1609 and 1620. It’s an octagonal square, at the intersection of two main streets of Palermo, Via Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda.

The four corners are composed of four tiers: at the foot there are fountains which represent the rivers that bathed the city in ancient times (Oreto - Kemonia - Pannaria - Papireto), the lower order in Doric style, there are 4 statues representing the seasons (represented from Aeolus, Venus, Bacchus and Ceres), in consecutive order, Ionic style, the 4 statues of the Spanish viceroys (Charles V and Filippi - II -III- IV) finally, in the higher 4 saints of Palermo (Cristina - Olivia - Agatha - Nymph).

PORTA CARINI

Porta Carini is located at the entrance of the popular market of the Capo, is one of the oldest gates of Palermo and owes its name to the town of Carini, because anciently the road that starts from the door, crossed the country and led directly to Carini.

The gate was built around 1310, then in 1779 the property passed to a monastery and the nuns used it as a place of recreation. In 1782, the gate was destroyed to be rebuilt again. In 2003, the town has taken care of the restoration. It is built of limestone, the style is neoclassical. In the front there are four false columns with a square base with Doric capitals.

Porta Carini is also one of the main entrances to the Capo Town market.