Fontana Grande, Viterbo, Fountain in the center of Viterbo, Italy
Fontana Grande is a medieval stone fountain in Piazza Fontana Grande, at the center of Viterbo, with a cross-shaped lower basin, a tall central column, and two shallow bowls stacked on top of each other. The whole structure is crowned with a pointed finial, and stone steps run around the base of the basin.
The fountain was commissioned by the city council in 1212, replacing an older water source called Fontem Sepalis that already appears in a document from 1192. It was repaired several times over the following centuries, with work ordered in the late 1200s and again in 1424.
The four lion heads on the fountain's basin are the symbol of Viterbo, and the same motif appears on buildings throughout the old city. Walking around the fountain, visitors can see how deeply this image is woven into the city's everyday architecture.
The fountain stands at the crossing of Via Garibaldi and Via Cavour, right in the old city center, and is easy to reach on foot from any direction. It sits in an open square, so there is plenty of space to walk around it and see all sides.
The water that feeds the fountain originally came from a Roman aqueduct that entered Viterbo near the church of San Sisto, built long before the fountain itself existed. The two stonemasons who built it, Pietro and Bertoldo di Giovanni, carved their names into the lower part of the stone, which was a rare gesture for craftsmen of that period.
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