Quattro Canti

Where: Palermo
Best for: Baroque octagonal crossroads
Allow: 20 minutes
Tickets: Free

Piazza Vigliena, better known as the Quattro Canti, is the crossroads where Palermo’s two main streets, Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele, meet. It was laid out between 1608 and 1620 under the Spanish viceroys, to a design by Giulio Lasso and Mariano Smiriglio, and it splits the old city into its four quarters.

Four concave Baroque facades face each other across an octagon, each with three tiers: a fountain of one of the seasons at street level, a Spanish king of Sicily above (Charles V, Philip II, III and IV) and, at the top, a patron saint of the city: Christina, Ninfa, Olivia or Agata. Palermitans call it the Teatro del Sole, because at any hour one facade catches the sun.

Sources and citations (2)

City of Palermo TourismQuattro CantiPlace identity and urban contextRead source
City of Palermo TourismLuoghi della rappresentazioneSeasonal illumination interpretationRead source

Four things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

The fountains of the four seasonsSeventeenth century
Each corner has a fountain for one season, the base of the vertical story told above.Lower tier of each facade
The four Spanish kingsCharles V, Philip II, Philip III and Philip IV
The sovereigns who ruled Sicily in the period when the square was built.Middle tier
The four patron saintsChristina, Ninfa, Oliva and Agatha
Saints of the four quarters of the old city, placed above the kings to show who protected Palermo.Top tier
Teatro del SolePlay of light
At any hour one facade catches the sun, which is why Palermitans call the crossing a theatre of the sun.Across the octagon

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets: Free
Booking: No booking needed
Time needed: 20 minutes
Best time: Late morning to midday, when several facades catch the sun
Getting there: It sits in the middle of the old city, where Via Maqueda crosses Corso Vittorio Emanuele. From Palermo Centrale, walk up Via Maqueda; from the port or the cathedral, follow Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Piazza Pretoria is a few steps away.
Accessibility: An open, level street crossing, step-free, though Corso Vittorio Emanuele carries traffic.

Stand in the middle of the crossing and turn slowly: each facade carries a season, a king and a saint, and you can read the city’s four quarters at a glance. Then step to Piazza Pretoria and its fountain.

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