Fonte Gaia

The Fonte Gaia is a monumental fountain located in the Piazza del Campo in the center of Siena.

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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]

Fontebranda

Fontebranda is one of the medieval fountains of Siena, located in Terzo di Camollia, in the Contrada of Oca, near the Porta of Fontebranda.

History

The fountain was built in the 13th century by the Guild of the Wool-makers (Lana). The first mention of a fountain was in 1081, and documents speak of enlargement by Bellamino in 1193, and finally rebuilt in its present form in 1246. The fountain is cited by Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy (Inferno - Canto trentesimo | Inferno XXX, vv. 76-78).

Fontebranda fountain and Basilica di San Domenico 

Fountain Fontebranda, inside the walls of Siena [2]

Structure

The fountain front has three Gothic arches and a crenellated roof. The roof spans a tank fed by water traveling for kilometers to reach the city.

Fountains in Siena | Gallery of images

The main fountains in Siena

Shadow of The Torre del Mangia on the Piazza del Campo, framing the Fonte Gaia

Panels of the Fonte Gaia (Fountain of Joy), piazza del Campo, Siena. The originasl were the work of Jacopo della Quercia (ca. 1367–1438). Badly deteriorated by long exposure to the elements, the fountain was entirely replaced in 1868 by a copy made by neo-Renaissance sculptor Tito Sarrocchi (1824–1900).

Fonte Branda

Fonte d'Ovile

Fonte Nuova d'Ovile

Fonte Nuova di notte

Fonte di Pescaia

Le fonti di Siena e i loro
aquedotti (1906)

Minor fountains

Fonte delle Monache

Fonte dei Pispini

Fonti nella valle di Porta Giustizia

Fonte Caccialupi

Fonte Gaia in piazza del Campo a Siena, 1856, Archivi Alinari, Firenze

Acca Larentia

Faluschi discusses the vibrant life of Fontebranda in his Breve relazione, page 223. For the fountains, Fabio Bargagli Petrucci's work (Le fonti di Siena e i loro acquedotti) remains valuable, but also see the Associazione La Diana's works . The Museo dell' Acqua at Fonte di Pescaia has a lively interactive exhibit showing what some of the fountains looked like. [3]

Fabio Bargagli Petrucci, Le fonti di Siena e i loro aquedotti, note storiche dalle origini fino al MDLV, 1906, Siena : Olschk
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Web page on Open Library | Web | pdf | epub

Full text of "Le fonti di Siena e i loro aquedotti, note storiche dalle origini fino al MDLV"

Catoni G., Il fiero Podestà. Fabio Bargagli Petrucci e il patrimonio di Siena, Siena, Fondazione Monte dei Paschi di Siena, 2010

Le fonti di Siena e i loro aquedotti, note storiche dalle origini fino al MDLV, 1906

Michael P. Kucher, The Water Supply System of Siena, Italy: The Medieval Roots of the Modern Networked City, Routledge, 2005, ISBN: 9780415971669

Siena's Contrada Fountains | map | Google site | sites.google.com

Scappini, Chiara. History, preservation and reconstruction in Siena. | www..rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/

Through an examination of pertinent documents, Scappin explains how the nineteenth-century project to restore the fountain, stimulated by the Risorgimento, was a reflection of the social and political history of Siena and of modern Italy. Visual evidence indicates that Sarrocchi’s revival sculpture, currently in situ, cannot be considered a copy of Quercia’s Fonte Gaia, but rather a variant of it.This dissertation demonstrates how Sarrocchi’s fountain --heavily influenced by the Italian art movement Purism and the prevailing restoration theories that circulated in Siena at the time -- reflects the reception of Renaissance art in the nineteenth century.

[1] Photo by Joanbanjo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
[2] Photo byLigaDue, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
[3] Jane Tylus, Siena: City of Secrets, University of Chicago Press, 2015

Gaia

Sources

• Description on Siena on line website.
• La Fonte Gaia di Jacopo della Quercia: Storia e restauro di un capolavoro dell'arte senese, Sara Dei, Enrico Toti (Editors)

Questo articolo è basato sugli articoli Fonte Gaia, Fontebranda, Siena, dell' enciclopedia Wikipedia ed è rilasciato sotto i termini della GNU Free Documentation License.