Fontana Pretoria

Here we are, right in the heart of Palermo’s old town, on Piazza Pretoria. And it’s not the palaces and churches around you that made this spot famous, but the spectacular fountain in the middle.

Its story begins in 1573, when the city senate bought a fountain originally designed for a private villa in Florence. The owner had run out of money and had to sell it, so the whole fountain was shipped here—over 600 separate pieces! Several houses were knocked down to clear the space, and by 1581 the fountain was fully reassembled. What you see today is a cascade of 48 statues: gods, mythological figures, animals, and allegories pouring water in every direction.

But the beauty came with a scandal. In the 18th and 19th centuries, locals nicknamed it the “Fountain of Shame,” shocked by the nudity of the figures. Legend even says that the nuns from the nearby convent, offended by all those exposed bodies, took hammers to the statues and smashed their noses, along with other parts. True or not, the story stuck, and so did the nickname.

Today, with the city hall and grand churches looking on, Piazza Pretoria is still one of the most striking, and cheekiest, sights in Palermo.