This open circular space was laid out between 1608 and 1620 by the Roman architect Giulio Lasso at the junction of the two major streets in Palermo at that time: Cassarò (now known as Vittorio Emanuele), which leads from the Norman Palace to the harbor, and Via Nuova, later re-named Maqueda after the Spanish viceroy.
Lasso designed this square with a concave frontage on each of the four corners. At ground level on each corner, he built a fountain, with sculptured figures on the three upper floors, accompanied by Classical Greek columns.
It was long after 1620 before they were finished; consequently, above the sculptures symbolizing the Four Seasons, it was possible to insert statues of the four Spanish kings since 1516. On the uppermost floor are four female patron saints.
