In Palermo’s historic center two major thoroughfares intersect: Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda. This busy intersection, known as Quattro Canti, is flanked by four 18th century Baroque facades, each with a series of statues: The the city’s former patron saints (prior to Santa Rosalia) at the top, a Spanish king of Sicily (in the middle), and a fountain graced with a woman at various stages of her life (at the street level). This year we’ve seen spring, summer, and autumn, and today, on the winter solstice, we find an old woman holding a flaming lantern who represents “inverno” or winter.