N°2 | 2024 MARCHE: THE HERITAGE OF CAST IRON FOUNTAINS
It was the historical cast iron fountains of Abruzzo that originally drew our attention, resulting in a thorough census that provided us with documentary material for an entire issue of the magazine (Arredo e Città no. 1, 2019). As our investigation proceeded, however, we realized that the dissemination of this type of artefact extended beyond the confines of a single region and embraced that of neighbouring Marche. We found here models identical to those already known, together with completely original ones that do not seem to have counterparts elsewhere in Italy.
Our census discovered twenty-four fountains, spread across twenty-three municipalities. They are all made of cast iron, with one or more spouts, and are all embellished with sculptures that raise them to the status of genuine artistic monuments.
In the later 18th and earlier 19th centuries, they played a decisive and omnipresent role in providing water for men and animals.