Piazza Quattro Canti

The "Quattro Canti", Four Corners (or Vigliena Square) is the name of an octagonal square, where the two main roads of Palermo: Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele (ancient way of Phoenician origin, which connected the Acropolis and the Norman Palace to the sea). The "Quattro Canti" refer to the four architectural perspectives that define the space of the intersection: manufactured between 1609 and 1620 and topped by the royal coats of white marble, the four joint statements have on several levels, with four monumental facades decorated with figurative entries, from bottom to top, it is followed according to a principle of ascension from the world of nature to that of the sky. Represent the rivers of the ancient city (Oreto, Kemonia, Pannaria, Papireto), following a Doric order with the allegories of the four seasons (Aeolus, Venus, Ceres and Bacchus), a Ionic order with statues of Charles V, Philip II Philip III and Philip IV, finally, the four Palermo's Saints (Agata, Nymph, Olive and Cristina).