Pedras Fountain, Fountain in Centro, São Luís, Brazil.
Pedras Fountain is a stone water structure with Portuguese features in the historic district of São Luís. The structure consists of a facade with water spouts, a storage tank, and underground water channels that remain functional.
The structure was built in 1641 under Dutch occupation during an invasion in the region. It was constructed as part of the water system and incorporates underground infrastructure that continues to operate today.
The name Fonte das Pedras also designates the surrounding area, which visitors and locals of São Luís seek out to rest beneath the city's leafy trees. The spouts and carved water figures (carrancas) are cut from Portuguese lioz stone, a detail to look for on the rebuilt front.
The fountain stands at the head of Rua de São João, flanked by Rua do Mocambo and Rua da Inveja, close to the Central Market of São Luís. Visitors reach it on foot through the historic centre; the surrounding trees give shade for a rest.
The lioz Portuguese stone spouts and gargoyles date from the 1819–1822 rebuilding under governor Bernardo da Silveira Pinto da Fonseca, not from the Dutch works of 1641. The facade itself was redrawn in 1832 by the Maranhão engineer José Joaquim Lopes, who added the tank that drains the spouts.
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