I love fountains and statues. So Palermo gave me a wonderful gift: the Fountain of the Genius of Palermo in Piazza Rivoluzione. It’s elegant, charming, and a little mysterious — just like its story.
The Genius is the spirit and symbol of our city. Once, I tried to explain who he was to a friend of mine from Rome, and it turned out to be surprisingly difficult. He kept getting stuck on the word Genius and couldn’t quite understand that here it isn’t a description of someone exceptionally talented. It’s more like a symbolic name, and no one in Palermo finds it unusual. A Genius named Genius — that’s perfectly Palermo.
There are several legends about our Genius. The most popular one tells of a traveler who spotted a fertile and prosperous land from the sea, decided to settle there, and founded Palermo.
I prefer another version — the oldest one. Long before Christianity and even before the Romans, every place was believed to have its own spirit: a genius loci. A person, a house, a family, a city — everything had its own genius. People made offerings and asked for protection and prosperity. Back then, the word genius had a much broader meaning than it does today. In Latin, it literally referred to the spirit that accompanies birth.
The people of Palermo have always turned to the Genius for help. At one point, the government even removed the statue from the square, fearing the wishes of locals who prayed for the fall of the Bourbon monarchy. It didn’t help. The Bourbons were overthrown during Garibaldi’s campaign, and afterwards our little Genius was returned to Piazza Rivoluzione.
They say there are many images of the Genius throughout the city: frescoes, bas-reliefs, and several sculptures. There are three main statues. So far, I’ve only found my favorite one with the fountain and another in Villa Giulia. Apparently, the third one is in Vucciria, but I haven’t made it there yet.