Experience Sicily

Tag: fountain

  • Catania’s Elephant 

    Two rivers meet under Catania’s Piazza del Duomo to feed the Fontana dell’Elefante, or the Elephant Fountain. Designed by G.B. Vaccarini in 1736, this focal point of the cathedral’s square possesses an ancient Roman-era statue of an elephant made from black lava stone holding an Egyptian obelisk that boasts hieroglyphics about the goddess Isis, and…

  • Hercules Represents Noto’s Strength

    The Fountain of Hercules located in Piazza San Domenico in Noto was created in 1757. It was intended to be reminiscent of Bernini’s masterpiece Fountain of the Four Rivers in Rome’s Piazza Novana, and probably, since he possesses a shield of the city, symbolizes the strength of the community that rebuilt after the devastating earthquake…

  • Fill Them Up

    A piece of kitsch depicting a Sicilian folk scene.

  • A Tranquil Fountain

    At one corner of the Cloister of the Cathedral of Monreale, there is a bubbling fountain surrounded by a few of the 228 unique columns that make up this tranquil, not-to-be-missed site. Built around 1200 AD, William II commissioned artisans from Sicily as well as those from Venice in order to create a unique sanctuary–both…

  • Palermo’s Quattro Canti: She Represents Summer

    At the center of Palermo, the intersection of Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda is called Quattro Canti, or Four Corners. Quattro Canti is octagonal in shape, and it is flanked by four 18th century Baroque facades, each with a fountain and a series of statues. On the first level–the street level–are images representing the…

  • The Fountains of Ortigia

    In the center of Siracusa’s Ortigia Island, in Piazza Archimede, is the Fountain of Diana. In 1906, Italian sculptor Giulio Moschetti (1847-1909) designed and constructed the modern, yet Baroque-feeling work featuring the goddess of the hunt, wild animals, moon, and childbirth, i.e. the Roman Diana or Greek Artemis. Also present in the sculpture scene is…

  • The Fountains of Taormina

    I’m thinking of summer. On a hot day Sicilians refresh themselves with fresh water from beautiful municipal fountains, like this one in Taormina.

  • The Splendid

    La Zisa, which is currently open to the public as a museum, had been a residence since the 12th century when it was first constructed. Parts of it still maintain its original Moorish splendor–a good word to use because its name “La Zisa” was derived from the Arab word “al-Aziz,” meaning splendid. Throughout its history,…

  • La Zisa: Another Jewel of Palermo

    Palermo’s La Zisa is a 12th century palace that was constructed by Moorish craftsmen in the Norman-Arab style. (Photo Credit: Experience Sicily’s Filippo Buttitta)