The Public Fountains in Siena

Located in Piazza del Campo, where the entire city of Siena seems to converge, this monumental fountain is the highest expression of the ideals to which the Republic aspired.

This beautiful fountain, composed of two circular basins of increasing diameter and a larger hexagonal pool at the base, was built at the expense of the inhabitants of the district in around 1534.

There are few sources regarding this fountain, although it has not undergone any major changes in its centuries of history; scholars tend to date it to the late 12th century due to the fact that the Guild of Wool Weavers and Silk Weavers was based in the district. Barbicone, the commoner who led the revolt of 1371, was a native of this area. This popular uprising was one of the first proletarian movements of Italian history (seven years before the revolt of the Ciompi in the city of Florence).

The monumental Fonte Nuova d’Ovile was operating as early as 1298, although incomplete: this valuable information is provided by a plaque on its right-hand column. The Fonte Nuova stands on a rectangular base and is clad entirely in masonry, with a few stone ornaments.

In its architectural simplicity, this is one of the characteristic fountains of Siena. Located below the Casato di Sotto road and accessed by means of a ramp, it is composed of a simple pool divided into two sections and covered by a small vault set into the side of the road and supported by a simple semi-circular arch.

Also known as Fonte di Samoreci or Fonte del Ponte di Romana, it is located close to Siena’s original city walls. Due to its central location, the fountain was constantly subject to restructuring and improvements, with the addition, in 1474, of the steps and a three-pool system intended to serve as a fountain, a trough and a wash house respectively. The fountain now only retains its upper basin, between two tall masonry buttresses, and three ornamental coats of arms added in the late Medici era.

Already mentioned in the Biccherna records (1226), this is one of the oldest and most important water sources in the city of Siena, both because of its location (outside the city walls, on the road leading to the Maremma estates) and its integrity, which allows us to study the various changes that have affected the architecture and use of the water system. In Pescaia the medieval basins coexist with the battlements and fortifications from after 1270, dominated by the constructions from the Lorena era, known as “Gli Sfrattati” (“The Evicted”): after the Second World War, inhabitants of Siena who had lost their homes during the bombing of the station took refuge here. Since January 2010, the structure has housed the premises of the Museum of Water, where you can find out more about the history of the water sources of Siena presented in this short itinerary.