Giulio Lasso

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Giulio Lasso (died 1617) Little is known of him other than he was a 17th century Florentine architect, best know for his work in Palermo, Sicily. He was responsible for the "Quattri Canti" in the centre of Palermo. This eight sided piazza which is actually a crossroads (hence the name). It is one of Sicily's first examples of the Baroque style of architecture, the result of a road straightening and widening scheme, the piazza is also an early example of architectural town planning.

Quattro Canti, officially know as Piazza Vigliena, was laid out on the orders of the Viceroy the Duke of Maqueda between 1608-1620 by Lasso at the crossing of the two principal streets in Palermo, the Via Maqueda and the Corso Vittorio Emanule. The piazza is hexagonal four sides being the streets, and the remaining four sides are Baroque buildings the near identical facades of which contain fountains with statues of the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and of the patronesses of Palermo, (Cristina, Ninfa, Olivia, and Agata). The facades onto the interchange are curved, and rise to four floors; the fountains rise to the height of the second floor, the third and fourth floors contain the statues in niches. At the time the piazza was built, it was one of the first major examples of town planning in Europe. Lasso did not live to se its completion and the project was eventually finished under the supervision of Mariano Smiriglio, who was the architect of the Palermo Senate.