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 Fonte Gaia - Siena, Italia Posted by:  razalas
N 43° 19.121 E 011° 19.886
32T E 689049 N 4798844
The Fonte Gaia is a monumental fountain located in the Piazza del Campo in the center of Siena, Italy.
Waymark Code: WMZN2W
Location: Toscana, Italy
Date Posted: 12/05/2018
Views: 5
The wikipedia website tell us about the Fonte Gaia:
quote:
"The first fountain in the Piazza del Campo was completed in 1342, after hydraulic construction had led water to the site. Underground pipes brought water to the site from 25 kilometers away. Legend holds that the fountain was met with much joy, thus it was given the name Gaia or joyous. Others suggest the term Gaia refers to the Latin term for "bride", and that the fountain was dedicated to the bride of God and patron of Siena, the Virgin Mary. The fountains, plates, and statues conflate Roman matrons' cardinal virtues, with a central depiction of Mary, curiously framed by stories of Genesis.
In 1419, the fountain had the present decorative frame constructed by Jacopo della Quercia. In 1858, the original marble panels were replaced by copies sculpted by Tito Sarrocchi, under the supervision of architect Giuseppe Partini. The side reliefs depict episodes from Genesis: The Creation of Adam and The Flight from the Garden of Eden. The wolves spouting water, representing the mother-wolf of Remus and Romulus, form part of the reconstructed fountain. Two nude female figures once adorned the front two columns, traditionally believed to represent Rea Silvia and Acca Larentia, in celebration of Siena’s supposed links to ancient Rome. These were not added in the reconstruction but can be viewed along with the original panels at a museum at Santa Maria della Scala, the old hospital overlooking the Piazza del Duomo. The long section of the fountain is adorned at the centre with a Madonna and Child, surrounded by allegories of the Virtues."
The The University of Washington tell us about the Fonte Gaia:
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"At 321 meters above sea level Fonte Gaia is situated at the highest elevation of all the fountains. It brings water from the zone north of the city along a ridge uninterrupted by valleys or depressions; it is considered to be "the queen of Sienese fountains" both for for its position, in the Piazza del Campo, and even more for its undoubted artistic merit. The ensemble, completed by Jacopo della Quercia between 1409 and 1419, has to be considered to be among the major expressions of Italian sculpture of the Quattrocento. The fountain that tourists admire today is, in fact, a copy by Tito Sarrocchi that replaced the original, destroyed by long centuries of exposure to the elements, in 1844. The fragmentary remains of Jacopo della Quercia's original masterpiece can be seen in the loggia of the Palazzo Comunale.
The surplus water from Fonte Gaia is sent through the more or less passable bottini in the valley below it until it reaches the fountains of Pantaneto, San Maurizio, Casato, and Pispini."
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