Quattro Canti

Quattro Canti, officially known as Piazza Vigliena, is a Baroque square in Palermo, Sicily, Southern Italy.

Quattro Canti.

It was laid out on the orders of the Viceroys between 1608-1620[1] by Giulio Lasso and Mariano Smiriglio at the crossing of the two principal streets in Palermo, the Via Maqueda and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

The piazza is octagonal, four sides being the streets; the remaining four sides are Baroque buildings, the near-identical facades of which contain fountains with statues of the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and of the patronesses of Palermo, (Christina, Ninfa, Olivia and Agata). The facades onto the interchange are curved, and rise to four floors; the fountains rise to the height of the second floor, the third and fourth floors contain the statues in niches. At the time the piazza was built, it was one of the first major examples of town planning in Europe.

direction south west north east
photo
district Albergheria Seralcadio/Capo La Loggia Kalsa
season spring summer autumn winter
king Charles V Philip II Philip IV Philip III
patron Christina of Bolsena Santa Ninfa Oliva di Palermo Sant'Agata

Notes

  1. The Viceroy in 1608 was Juan Fernández Pacheco, duque de Escalona; there were four further viceroys before 1620.

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