He’s the Genius of Palermo.

In the event you’ve handed by piazza Rivoluzione you have in all probability seen him. It is the statue above the fountain in the course of the sq.. 

The Genius of Palermo is depicted as a bearded man, with a crown on his head and with one other moderately peculiar aspect: a snake that appears to be feeding from his chest and, typically, with a canine mendacity at his ft.

However who is that this Genius? It’s tough to know precisely as his determine is shrouded in delusion. It’s believed to have pre-Roman origins and its authentic operate was to function safety of locations.

 Essentially the most shared which means is that the Genius is the illustration of town, the “genius loci”, the protecting spirit of a spot.

The one in piazza Rivoluzione is simply one of many “Geniuses” that yow will discover strolling round Palermo, however there are a lot of extra. It’s mentioned that, should you look laborious sufficient, there are as many as 16 geniuses hidden round Palermo.

 At the least 5 are properly seen, some within the open, just like the one yow will discover in Villa Giulia, within the Botanical Backyard (Orto Botanico), or close to the Vucciria, referred to as Genio del Garraffo, identified popularly as Palermo the good (Palermu lu grandi, in Sicliano).