Fontana Pretoria

This nearly 500 year old fountain and collection of beautiful and monsterous statues is amazing. For the 6 months I've been here, it or the plaza around it have been constantly under renovation, but it's still fascinating and enjoyable. It's also in a fun party of the city with shops, street vendors, restaurants and street entertainers. Touristy but lovely and enjoyable.

Beautiful fountain in the heart of Palermo! The sculptures are impressive and full of detail, and the square around it feels very lively. A must-see stop when exploring the city’s historic

A beautiful square with an impressive fountain at its center. The atmosphere is lively and charming. At the moment, some renovation work is ongoing, but it’s still well worth a visit.

The Pretoria Fountain is a masterpiece of Renaissance art that has been both lauded and reviled since its inception. This beautiful fountain, often dubbed the "Fountain of Shame" by locals due to its numerous nude sculptures, exemplifies the city's rich heritage and creative flare. Originally designed for a Florentine nobleman's private gardens, the fountain underwent considerable changes after being acquired by the Palermo Senate in 1574. Its transfer to the center of the city, Piazza Pretoria, sparked both appreciation and criticism. The abundance of naked images portraying gods, goddesses, nymphs, and legendary animals sparked concern among Palermo's more conservative people. The fountain's elaborate form, which consists of three concentric circular basins, is a masterwork of late Renaissance sculpture with clear Florentine influences. The highest basin is the smallest, and the lowermost is the largest. The ensemble is decorated with various statues and smaller fountains, resulting in a visually magnificent display. Visitors can freely observe this prominent sight at any time of day or night. However, daylight hours provide the best circumstances for observing the complex features of the sculptures. As evening falls, the fountain is lighted in a most fascinating way, casting a mystical spell over its watchers.

Beautiful outdoor fountain just off the main streets at four corners. Currently has no water.

Stunning fountain ⛲️. But it was under renovation unfortunately when we got there 😪. Still we got the vipes ✨️🇮🇹

I came across the Fontana Pretoria (Fontana della Vergogna) in front of the Town Hall in the Piazza Pretoria. Just amazing to go around and see the outstanding carvings! It was commissioned in 1554 for a villa in Florence and later transported here to Sicily. It has more than 50 white marble statues of mythological figures. It was nicknamed the "Fountain of Shame" due to all the nude statues!

Sadly in renovations right now but you can still get a glimpse of how amazing it must be! Very detailed statues made out of Carrara marble and the fountain is incredibly large too! At its top you can find the protector saint of Palermo, Santa Rosalia. It consists of 644 pieces shipped from Florence to Palermo.

"The Fountain of Shame" because a number of the statues here are rather undressed. The "Praetorian Fountain" was originally created for the garden of don Luigi de Toledo of Florence in 1551. In 1573, the fountain was sold to the city of Palermo and reinstalled after it was moved. A restoration was completed in 2003. According to our tour guide, a recent Dolce & Gabbana runway took place here. Which I would totally understand as the Piazza is quite lovely. Well worth a stop to check it out and photograph. [Review 12821 overall, 136 of 2020.]

We found this gorgeous fountain as we walked along the Via Maqueda. It is a very busy area filled with tourists most every day. There are horse drawn carriages that you can rent for a very nice ride to see area located right on the street.

I liked it. Yeah the area has a gritty look at everything but that's life isnt it? I believe this is called the Fountain of Shame. A few strides away is Quadro Canti or the four corners. You cannot and should not miss this monument. It is across the town hall which you can visit as well. The guards were really nice and let us in to take a look (and use the facilities of course ) :D

I'm only giving three stars because it was Sicily! If you are planning a trip to Sicily I would say skip Palarmo. Although it was rich with history it was very dirty everything had graffiti a lot of the historical monuments, statues, buildings etc. were either broken or unkept it was just not what I expected