Nicola and Giovanni Pisano carved the marble panels of this two-basin fountain between 1278 and 1280, working from a design by the Perugian friar Bevignate da Cingoli, while the engineer Boninsegna Veneziano solved the harder problem: lifting water to the top of the hill without a single pump.
The lower basin's fifty reliefs run through the months, the zodiac, the liberal arts and scenes from Genesis and Roman history, a stone almanac for a city that could not yet print one. Above, twenty-four bronze and marble figures include personifications of Perugia and Rome standing alongside the city's own patron saints. An earthquake cracked the fountain in 1348, and restorers have returned to it twice since, most recently in the 1990s. It still marks the endpoint of the medieval aqueduct that climbs through Perugia's lanes to reach it.
Sources and citations (3)
- Comune di PerugiaFontana MaggiorePage title; Dove section: Piazza IV Novembre, 06123Read source
- Comune di PerugiaAcquedotto medievale - Medieval AqueductDescription: aqueduct built to bring water from Monte Pacciano to Fontana MaggioreRead source
- Catalogo generale dei Beni CulturaliPortatrici d'acquaHistorical-critical notes: Latin inscription, completion, named makers, cup date and Rubeus signatureRead source
