Fontana Pretoria - Palermo

The Fontana Pretoria was placed in the sixteenth century on the Piazza Pretoria, which was specially constructed for the fountain.

The fountain was originally commissioned by the Spanish Viceroy of Naples Pedro Álvarez de Toledo for his Florentine villa by a number of sculptors from Florence . However, Don Pedro died before the work was completed in 1554, and his son sold the fountain to the city of Palermo in 1573. In the same year, a square was constructed in front of the Palazzo Pretorio , today the town hall, and the Dominican church Santa Caterina and the 644 parts of the fountain were assembled there.

The fountain has a circumference of 133 meters and is 12 meters high . The fountain contains many statues of river goddesses and nymphs. Since the majority of the statues are naked, the fountain is also called the Fountain of Shame . The fountain was completely restored at the end of the twentieth century.

Willem Vandenameele