The main facade of the palace, faces the northern side of the rectangular Piazza del Duomo; while across the square, on the southern end stands the Palazzo del Seminario dei Chierici. The Palazzo degli Elefanti was begun in 1696 after the devastating earthquake of 1693. Construction was begun using the designs of Giovanni Battista Longobardo. The eastern, southern, and western façades were however designed at a later stage by Giovan Battista Vaccarini, a highly prolific architect of Catania during its urban reconstruction in the 18th-century, while the northern one was by Carmelo Battaglia.