Diana fountain, Fountain in Piazza Archimede, Syracuse, Italy
The Diana Fountain in Piazza Archimede centres on a white marble group of Diana with her bow and dog, with Arethusa and Alpheus below and four Tritons riding two sea horses and two sea creatures in the basin. Giulio Moschetti and his son Mario made it in 1907 in reinforced concrete; the basin is reddish polished stone.
The Municipality of Syracuse commissioned the fountain after Piazza Archimede was created in 1878. On 1 February 1906 the council approved Giulio Moschetti's preparatory sketch, and the work was executed in ten months between 1906 and 1907 for 19,000 lire, with his son Mario. Moschetti was chosen after his success with Catania's Fontana di Proserpina. The 1996 restoration was funded by SOGEAS, the former water company.
The fountain tells a mythological story tied to Syracuse's ancient Greek past, with figures that held meaning for people in this region. Walking around it, you notice how the depicted characters connect to local water sources and the city's identity.
The fountain sits in the center of Piazza Archimede, making it easy to find and access from the surrounding streets. It works well as a landmark for orienting yourself when walking through the historic center and exploring nearby attractions.
The twelve-pointed star was not on the fountain itself: an old postcard shows it drawn on the paving of Piazza Archimede, with lines running along the square's axes. It marked the fountain's true orientation and disappeared when the square was restored and the nearby lamp posts removed.
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