Fountain of 99 Spouts in L'Aquila

FOUNTAIN OF 99 SPOUTS IN L'AQUILA

The fountain of 99 spouts, also known as the fountain of Rivera, is a historical monument Eagle.

Located in the Rivera region - one of the oldest of the old town, near the river Aterno - The fountain consists of ninety-three masks in stone spouts and six singles, the most of which flows water. According to tradition, the spouts represent the ninety-nine castles in the thirteenth century, participated in the foundation of the Eagle.

The fountain represents almost the entire perimeter of the homonymous square plaza located adjacent to urbiche Mura.

A trapezoid of great prospective impact, originally consisted of an elaborate astrological symbol system also repeated in the additions of 1582 by Alexander Ciccarone. The fountain is on three fronts and has lowered placed over the roadway; on the open side ends with a staircase that looks at the medieval church of San Vito.

The perimeter of the fountain, which for one side leans against the walls of the city, is characterized by the intertwining of blocks of pink and white stone taken from the nearby quarry of Genzano di Sassa, also present in the facade of the basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio and other monuments in the Eagle [12]. It consists of five tanks placed on different levels and slightly offset from each other, the highest of which is fed the water through special masks. This facility was specifically designed to allow washing laundry that took place on a daily basis until the first decades of the twentieth century.

The masks are all different and interspersed with rectangular panels, ninety-three of which contain an embossed flower and a rose window, while the remaining six are empty. The latter represent the wounds of Christ, while the rose is a symbol of the cycle of life and therefore eternity.

According to tradition, the function of masks is to represent allegorically the lords of the ninety-nine castles who contributed to the founding of L'Aquila in the thirteenth century. The city would in fact consists of ninety-nine squares, ninety-nine ninety-nine churches and fountains, each compared to reference the castle, and the fountain of Rivera would testify this operation; in fact the number of premises on which it was founded L'Aquila is slightly less than ninety-nine, and the number of masks from which flows the water is currently ninety-three. In fact, six spouts, smaller and without any practical function, are placed just below the parapet of the right side, probably to feed the legend of the ninety-nine the number [8]. Among them, of particular interest is placed on the right corner depicting a man with a fish head that would make reference to a medieval fairy tale known as the Legend of Colapesce and, therefore, allows you to reconnect to the name of Frederick II of Swabia, in which it would bound the founding of the city (in fact, the foundation of the city was made by his son, Emperor Conrad IV, and dates from the years 1254 to 1266, when Frederick II was already dead).

Another mystery linked to the work as the power source, voluntarily kept secret to prevent a castle rather than another they were to claim paternity, so much so that to execute the designer to not reveal to anyone; according to legend, the remains of Tancredi by Pentima are still placed below the [8] of the fountain pavement. The source of the fountain is probably placed near the church of Santa Chiara, on the northeastern side of the Rivera area.

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