Fontana Maggiore


The Fontana Maggiore, a masterpiece of medieval sculpture, placed in the centre of Piazza IV Novembre, is the monument symbol of the city of Perugia.

History

The monumental fountain was designed by Frà Bevignate da Cingoli and built between 1275 and 1277 to celebrate the arrival of water in the acropolis of the city, by means of the new aqueduct. Bevignate cooperated with other talented professionals, as Boninsegna Veneziano, a hydraulic engineer, who accomplished an incredible audacious endeavour, being able to carry the water coming from monte Pacciano, located a few kilometres, without the help of pumps. By means of a forced pressure duct, he managed to give to the water the opposite movement, i.e., the water flowed uphill instead of downhill.
Another co-worker was the founder Rosso Padellaio, who created the bronze upper part of the fountain. The marble reliefs were placed from 1278, carved by the most important sculptors of the period: Nicola Pisano, in partnership with Giovanni, his son.
The fountain was damaged by the earthquake of 1348, with the subsequent random reconstruction of the tile order; it was refurbished the first time in 1948/49 and then again in 1995/99.
The fountain inspired Jacopo di Grondalo for the construction of the fountain Sturinalto of Fabriano in 1285.
In the early 20th century, the fountain was refurbished by the architect Giuseppe Sacconi.

Description

The fountain was prepared in a workshop and then assembled in the centre of the square; it was made of stone from Assisi. The fountain consists of two concentric polygonal marble basins, on top a bronze cup decorated with a coloured bronze group of feminine figures out of which comes the water.  
The lower basin is made up of 25 mirrors, each divided into 2 tiles that describe the 12 months of the year, each of which is related to a zodiac symbol. Each month is connected to scenes of daily life and the characteristic farming work. As in other contemporary sculptures from Europe, in which the months are represented, here the manual work obtains dignity. In this basin manual labour is in fact represented together with the arti liberali, with philosophy, with characters from the Bible and the history of Rome; in this specific order:
In the upper basin, 24 statues at the corners, representing saints and mythological and biblical characters from the New and Old Testament. As in the lower basin, there is no contrast between the new Judeo-Cristian civilization and the ancient Greek-Roman civilization, they are harmonized and placed in continuity. The basin can be seen as a wind rose, where at each cardinal point there are relevant characters; i.e., the representation of Augusta Perusia with the cornucopia on her lap, which draw nourishment from the ears of wheat brought by the lady of Chiusi and from the fish offered by Domina Iacus, the nymph of the Lake Trasimeno. Then follows all the characters related to the city. In the opposite cardinal point, to the North, Euliste, the legendary founder of Perugia. To the West, Rome, related to the representation of the Roman Church and of Divinitas Excelsa and of Saints Pietro and Paolo. Another important character to the East is S. Giovanni Battista, for the role of the water as an essential and sacred element; it is associated with Salomè and other biblical characters.
The representation of the 24 statues are:
In the lower frame of the second basins, Latin verses are carved; epigraphic abbreviation provides information on the authors and the date of the sculpture, and they are an invitation to examine and interpret the fountain: "Guarda tu che passi questa fontana dal lieto mormorio, se osservi bene puoi vedere cose mirabili…."

Stamp

In 1974, the Poste Italiane dedicated to Fontana Maggiore a 40 Lire stamp, for the collection "Fontane d’Italia".