Big Onofrio Fountain

The Big Onofrio Fountain stands at Poljana Paska Milicevica, just inside Pile Gate in the Old City of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It was designed by the Neapolitan architect and hydraulic engineer Onofrio della Cava, who in 1438 completed an aqueduct that carried spring water about 12 kilometres from the Sumet spring in the Dubrovnik hinterland into the city. The fountain was completed in 1440 and has a sixteen-sided basin, with sixteen carved stone masks or mascarons that pour water. The fountain was originally decorated with sculptures by Pietro di Martino of Milan. The 1667 earthquake destroyed the upper decoration, and the fountain assumed a simpler form, with a dome that had been part of the original structure replaced by a more modest cover. The structure is a free-standing piece of urban infrastructure rather than a museum, so visitors encounter it as a working public fountain with drinkable water. It is related to the smaller Onofrio fountain at the opposite end of the Stradun, near Luza Square, which also belongs to the same water system. The fountain was damaged in the 1991 shelling and has since been repaired, and the sculptural details are today in good condition although the stone surfaces show wear. For visitors it works as a meeting place near Pile Gate and as an easy way to understand how the city secured water during centuries of siege risk. It is open at all times, free of charge, and often busy at midday during tourist season.