Fontana dell'Amenano, Marble fountain in Piazza del Duomo, Catania, Italy

The Fontana dell'Amenano is a Carrara marble fountain on the south side of Piazza del Duomo, facing the Palazzo degli Elefanti. A young male figure holding a cornucopia stands on the upper basin, and water overflowing its rounded rim falls in a sheet down the pedestal. Three muscular male figures rest at the edge of the rectangular basin below, their pale stone darkened by weathering.

The fountain was made in 1867 by the Neapolitan sculptor Tito Angelini, working in Carrara marble. It was placed on the south side of Piazza del Duomo, facing the Palazzo degli Elefanti and beside the Palazzo del Seminario dei Chierici. Behind it a lava-stone staircase leads up to the Pescheria, the old city fish market.

The Sicilian phrase "acqua a linzolu" (water in a sheet) names the fountain, because the overflow from the upper basin falls as a flat veil of water. Behind the monument, a staircase of dark lava stone climbs to the Pescheria, the old fish market, so the fountain marks the passage between the square and the market.

The fountain stands on the south side of Piazza del Duomo, facing the Palazzo degli Elefanti and beside the Palazzo del Seminario dei Chierici. A lava-stone staircase behind it climbs to the Pescheria market. The Amenano runs about two metres below the paving, so the water you see falls back underground.

Water from the underground Amenano River continues to flow through the fountain, directly connecting modern Catania with its ancient Greek origins. Many visitors are surprised to discover this continuous water, as the river remains completely hidden elsewhere throughout the city.