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The busiest crossing in the heart of the old city is the Quattro Canti or "Four Corners" that was constructed in 1611. it is less of a square or piazza and more of a crossroads fashioned in baroques style that divides the old Palermo into four parts. It is worth going around the fountain that centres it once to view the statues of one of the four seasons, one of the kings of Sicily and one of the patron saints of the city, tiered on it. At the south of the square, crossing corso Vittorio Emanuele, is the church of San Giuseppe dei Teatini, built in 1612. It is an enormous basilica supported by 22 gigantic columns with an opulent baroque interior and sumptuous side chapels. Nearby in Piazza Pretoria, in complete contrast to the church is a fountain ordained with racy nude figures constructed in the sixteenth century. It is particularly alluring at night when floodlit. Looming large over the fountain is the the church of Santa Caterina, an exaggeration of Baroque design with every centimetre decorated. Around the corner in another square, piazza Bellini, more churches are to be found. The first is the twelfth century chapel of San Cataldo during the Saracenic era featuring red domes surrounded by palm trees. The simplicity of this building is counteracted by the opulence of the church next door La Martorana. This is an excellent example of a medieval structure of Norman times despite the face lift it received during the baroque period. It is a powerful testimony to the Norman conquests dressed with ribbed arches, slender columns and magnificent mosaics whose colours make a powerful statement. |