Archimede square

At the center of the square stands the beautiful fountain of Diana of the sculptor Giulio Moschetti of 1906 which tells the legend of Arethusa. The nymph is portrayed in the act of fleeing from Alpheus who, with his outstretched arms, tries to grab her. Diana, solemnly in the center of the group, shields the girl. The palaces that overlook it sum up all of the island’s history, from the Middle Ages to the present day. Clockwise then we meet the palace of Banco di Sicilia, built in 1928 and designed by Salvatore Caronia, characterized by a portal framed by semi rusticated columns and Ionic pilasters. In the east there is the palace Pupillo (1773 – 1800), with a slightly convex front.

The intersection with the streets Maestranza and Rome is characterized by the original cantonal of Interlandi Pizzuti Palce, that stands on the area of Palace Landolina.

It follows the seventeenth-century Palace Gargallo. It owes its current appearance, with rich stucco decorations, to the renovations of the years 1895 – 1899. In this palace on Sept. 25, 1760 was born Tommaso Gargallo. Adjacent is the Palace Lanza – Bucceri – originally Platamone – that still preserve the coat of arms on the capitals of the columns.

The fifteenth century building of the Bank of Italy (or of the clock), rebuilt in the 50’s, closes the fourth side of the square. From the large wrought iron gate we can see the Catalan stairway with lion in heraldic position and the mullioned window punctuated by a slender column. The clock was positioned in the front on 12^th of April 1882.