Catania - Palazzo degli Elefanti

Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island, has a long history, that starts around 8000 BC, but later there were Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek and Roman periods. After the Roman Empire had fallen apart the Vandals tried to take over the island but failed. Finally, the Ostrogoths took possession.

Mid of the 6th century Sicily was conquered by troops of the Byzantine Empire. After the advent of Islam, Sicily got attacked by the Arab forces. Raids seeking loot continued until the mid-8th century.

A Muslim army was sent to the island in 827 but met with much resistance. So it took a century to conquer it and even later revolts constantly occurred

In 1038 the Byzantines invaded the island supported by Norman mercenaries, led by Roger. In 1072, after the siege of Palermo, most of Sicily was under Norman control. Roger´s son Roger II raised the status +of the island to a kingdom in 1130. During this period, the Kingdom of Sicily was prosperous and powerful,

The court of Roger II became melting out of culture from Europe and the Middle East. This attracted scholars, scientists, artists, and artisans. Muslims, Jews, Greeks, Lombards, and Normans cooperated and created some extraordinary buildings.

In 1186 the last descendant of Roger, Constance of Sicily married Emperor Henry VI, the second son of Barbarossa. So the crown of Sicily was passed on to the Hohenstaufen Dynasty. Frederick II, the only son of Constance, was crowned King of Sicily at the age of four in 1198. He became "Stupor Mundi", one of the greatest and most cultured men of the Middle Ages.

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Only a very small part of the "Palazzo degli Elefanti" (aka "Palazzo Municipale") can be seen. The palace was built after the eruption of the Aetna (1669) and the 1693 earthquake. It was completed in 1735.

In 1736 Giovan Battista Vaccarini, the architect of the palace, built this fountain decorated with an obelisk-bearing elephant, by now the landmark of the city of Catania. It remembers stronly to Bernini's elephants in Rome, but it is quite different.

Vaccarini found the elephant, that dates back to Roman times, in the ruins of the destroyed city. The Egyptian obelisk was also found by chance. So Vaccarini equipped the elephant with a white marble saddlecloth and erected the obelisk on it. A cross was placed on the top as a symbol of Christianity to arm the city against further natural disasters.