Piazza Marina, in the Kalsa, is the largest of the old town's piazzas, ringed by 14th- to 18th-century palaces and centred on the Giardino Garibaldi — a small public park dominated by a vast Ficus macrophylla. The fig is one of the largest trees in Europe, its aerial roots forming a buttressed grove. Children climb it; cats live in it; locals say it is one of the city's spirits.
The piazza was the city's main outdoor space from the late Middle Ages, used for jousts, executions, and processions. Palazzo Chiaramonte (Lo Steri) faces it from the eastern side. On Sundays the Antiquarium dei Sicani holds a small antiques and bric-à-brac market in the square.