Piazza Pretoria and the Pretoria Fountain

Piazza Pretoria is a compact square in Palermo's Kalsa area, Sicily, about two minutes on foot from Quattro Canti along Via Maqueda. It is dominated by the Pretoria Fountain, a 16th-century Florentine work that was installed in Palermo in the 1570s. The fountain is built as a series of concentric basins with a ring of nude marble figures, mythological and allegorical, along with animals and water nymphs. Palermitans nicknamed it the Fountain of Shame because of the nudity, a name that has stuck. The square also holds Palazzo Pretorio, the city hall, and the churches of Santa Caterina and San Giuseppe dei Teatini nearby, which give the space a stage-like Baroque setting. The base of the fountain is fenced, so visitors view it from the surrounding pavement and steps rather than walking among the statues. Because it is a public square, there is no ticket and no opening time. Most visits last 15 to 30 minutes. Early morning has the fewest people and the cleanest light on the marble, while evening lighting gives the figures a more dramatic look. Midday is crowded with tour groups and the stone can be hot in summer. Photographers usually shoot from the corner nearest Quattro Canti to include the facade of the city hall, or from the steps on the side to catch the full ring of statues. Santa Caterina, whose interior is open to ticketed visitors, is on the same square and can be added to the stop. The nearby Piazza Bellini with La Martorana and San Cataldo is a short walk further on.