The secret of the Sicilian Baroque by Silva Wischeropp

About "The secret of the Sicilian Baroque"

by Silva Wischeropp

About the artwork

I discovered this urban, crumbling yet picturesque, mysterious, baroque window motif in the early evening of 14 April 2022 during my Easter trip to the Sicilian capital Palermo. The photo was taken with the Nikon D800.

This abandoned façade is part of the former palace building in Piazza Pretoria, a square in Palermo, the capital of Sicily.
It is located in the centre of the old town just south of the Quattro Canti on Via Maqueda and extends eastwards from there. A wide flight of steps leads down from the square to Via Maqueda. The square takes its name from the Palazzo Pretorio, Palermo's former court palace. Piazza Pretoria was laid out in the 16th century to build the Mannerist Fontana Pretoria fountain. Because of the naked statues in this fountain, Piazza Pretoria was popularly known as Piazza della Vergogna (Square of Shame). This derivation is not uncontroversial. Another explanation goes back to the origin of the statues. They were originally built for the park of a castle in Florence. When the owners fell into financial ruin, they sold the statues to a buyer in Palermo. The ensemble was dismantled into over 600 pieces, shipped and rebuilt under the supervision of one of the creator's sons. The Palermitans expressed their indignation at this in the face of hunger and general hardship by christening the square Piazza Vergogna.
Anyone visiting Palermo and strolling through the streets will inevitably pass Piazza Pretoria.