Fontana Maggiore (1277-8)


The Commune commissioned the construction of a new aqueduct to bring water to the city from Montepacciano in 1254.  In 1277, they appointed  Fra Bevignate to supervise the completion of the project, using the services of the Venetian hydraulic engineer, Buoninsegna.  This work culminated in the construction of this magnificent monument at the civic centre of city.  Nicolò and Giovanni Pisano completed the sculpted figures and reliefs in 1278.

Upper Basin

Water enters the upper basin of the fountain through a bronze group of three female water carriers supporting an amphora.  This element of the fountain is a modern copy: the original was removed during restoration in 1948 and is now in the Galleria Nazionale (Room 1).  A cast group of two lions and two griffins (13th century) that was placed above the water carriers in ca. 1508 was also removed during restoration in 1948 and is now also in the Galleria Nazionale (Room 1).

The upper basin is cast in bronze and carries an inscription that translates:

"Rubeus made (i.e. cast) me in 1277, at the time of Podestà Geraldino dei Boschetti and Capitano del Popolo Anselmo di Alzate.  Those responsible for the work were the Benedictine Fra. Bevignate and Boninsegna".  

Another inscription at the base of the column that sustains the basin translates:

"At the time of Matteo da Correggio and Ermanno da Sassoferrato" (who were respectively Podestà and Capitano del Popolo in 1278).

Middle Basin

Water spills over from upper into the middle basin, which is formed from 24 slabs of pink stone from Bettona with marble figures at the junctions.  Inscriptions above identify the figures.   The three figures illustrated here (which face Corso Vannucci) personify Perugia and her dependent territories (see below).

The long inscription that runs along the lower cornice is a poem that celebrates Fra. Bevignate, Boninsegna, Nicolò Pisano ("famous in his art ... the flower of sculptors") and his son, Giovanni Pisano.  It also records the completion of the work in 1278, at the time of Pope Nicholas III and the Emperor Rudolf I.  

Lower Basin

Twelve spouts in the lower cornice of the middle basin conduct water into the larger lower basin, which is made of Carrara marble and decorated with 25 pairs of marble reliefs.  Again, the subject of each is identified by a Latin inscription.   The pair of reliefs illustrated here belongs to a series on the labours of the months: these represent January and February.

Iconography

The iconography of the sculpture used on the fountain speaks of the civic pride of Perugia.  In particular:

  • The personification of Perugia holding a cornucopia (on the middle basin, illustrated above) is flanked by a woman bearing a fish and another bearing a sheaf of corn, tribute from Perugian territories near Lake Trasimeno.  (The second figure is sometimes referred to as a personification of Chiusi, but the inscription "Clusium" here more probably refers to the fertile Chiugi di Perugia, between Chiusi and the lake).

 
 
  • The personification of Rome (on the middle basin, facing Palazzo Vescovile to the west) and the related pair of reliefs of Romulus and Remus and their mother Rea Silvia (on the lower basin) spoke of Perugia's allegiance to the papacy.  They were damaged in the uprising of 1859 and replaced by copies during restoration in 1948: the originals are in the Galleria Nazionale (Room 1).














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