Traditionally divided into four separate quarters the old city has its centre in the octagonal Piazza Vigliena (better known as Quattro Canti di Città) the geometric and symbolic heart of the city.

This square was laid out in the 17th century when Via Maqueda was constructed bisecting the old thoroughfare known as the Cassaro now renamed Corso Vittorio Emanuele.

Immediately adjacent stands the Cathedral dedicated to the Most Holy Mary of the Assumption with its spectacular and imposing façade separated from the Cassaro by a flat open space.

Built by the Normans on the exact spot where in early Christian times stood a sanctuary (later transformed into a Christian basilica and then an Arab mosque) the building has undergone some drastic transformations in the course of the centuries.

The most important of these works date from the 15th and 16th centuries when the beautiful southern portico in Catalan-Gothic style was created (1453) and the 18th century when the cupola was adde