  We investigate the harmonic-trap control of size and shape of Mott regions in
the Fermi Hubbard model on a square optical lattice. The use of Lanczos
diagonalization on clusters with twisted boundary conditions, followed by an
average over 50-80 samples, drastically reduce finite-size effects in some
ground state properties; calculations in the grand canonical ensemble together
with a local-density approximation (LDA) allow us to simulate the radial
density distribution. We have found that as the trap closes, the atomic cloud
goes from a metallic state, to a Mott core, and to a Mott ring; the coverage of
Mott atoms reaches a maximum at the core-ring transition. A `phase diagram' in
terms of an effective density and the on-site repulsion is proposed, as a guide
to maximize the Mott coverage. We also predict that the usual experimentally
accessible quantities, the global compressibility and the average double
occupancy (rather, its density derivative) display detectable signatures of the
core-ring transition. Some spin correlation functions are also calculated, and
predict the existence N\'eel ordering within Mott cores and rings.
