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Located along the road leading to the fortress, the Old Fountain was built by Pope Niccolò V (1447-1455), to provide water supply in the village of the town. Both the denomination fountain inside and the other old fountain suggest that in the past there was another source, this is proven by the existence, on ancient documents, of two fountain symbols in the squares adjacent to the tower of the clock.
Info: Municipality of Soriano nel Cimino, piazza Umberto I n. 12, tel. 0761742235, fax 0761742252,
ProLoco of Soriano nel Cimino Piazza Umberto I
01038 – Soriano nel Cimino (VT) Tel / Fax 0761.746001 – info@prolocosoriano.it
Agostino 334.7596098 Roberto 331.3651414 Fausto 340.3609305
OLD FOUNTAIN (Fontana Vecchia)
HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION
Located along the road leading to the fortress, the Old Fountain was built by Pope Niccolò V (1447-1455), to provide water supply in the village of the town. Both the denomination fountain inside and the other old fountain suggest that in the past there was another source, this is proven by the existence, on ancient documents, of two fountain symbols in the squares adjacent to the tower of the clock. The monument, transferred in 1837 to the underlying Piazza G. Marconi (formerly Piazza delle Erbe or del Mercato), was restored in its original site towards the early years of the twentieth century. The fountain has a circular basin characterized by rectangular mirrors; in the center rises a spindle, a typical element of the thirteenth-century Viterbo fountains, decorated with four small masks with the function of drips. The spire, which completes the structure of the building, shows the typical characters of the Gothic style, even if the source dates back to the 15th century. On the small pyramid you can admire the papal insignia, of which the initials “N.PP.V.” are legible.
The pavement near the Fontana Vecchia bears the coat of arms of Soriano, in which the inscription “fidelitas” appears, a term that entered the local historical tradition starting from the end of the fifteenth century, when Pope Innocent VIII wanted to reward the inhabitants of the town, for having accomplished an act of fidelity to the Church.
ESSENTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
D’ARCANGELI V., Monumenti archeologici e artistici del territorio di Soriano nel Cimino e delle zone limitrofe, Soriano nel Cimino (Vt) 1967.
D’ARCANGELI V., Soriano nel Cimino nella storia e nell’arte, Viterbo 1981.
GRAZZINI G., Zampillano segreti dalla fontana del Papa : A Soriano nel Cimino rivivono pagine di storia e d’arte che nessuno è mai riuscito e probabilmente nessuno riuscirà mai a decifrare, in “Bell’Italia. Alla scoperta del paese più bello del mondo”, Anno 1, n. 2 (giugno 1986), Milano 1986, pp. 72-89.
Soriano Turistica, a cura dell’Associazione “Pro-Soriano”, Soriano nel Cimino (Vt) 1970.
TARSETTI BARZELLOTTI M. A., Soriano nel Cimino, Bolsena (Vt) 1991.
