Fontana Pretoria

This large 16th-century fountain fills a square in central Palermo with a crowd of marble figures arranged in concentric tiers around a series of basins. Originally carved in Florence for a private garden, it was bought by the city and reassembled here, its nude mythological statues once scandalising residents and earning the square a mocking nickname. Steps and balustrades let visitors circle the fountain and study the gods, nymphs and animals framed by grand palaces and churches.