La Foncalada, Oviedo, Spain

La Foncalada is a fountain of potable water located outside the city walls of Oviedo; it was built by king Alfonso III of Asturias in the 9th century. This building remains the only surviving civil architectural item for public use of the Early Middle Ages. Its name was given after the inscription in Latin: fontem calatam written on it. Built in Pre-Romanesque style, it has been included with other Asturian Pre-Romanesque sites on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List since 1998.

It was originally placed near the city walls, next to an ancient Roman road. The decoration on top depicts the Victory Cross, symbol of Asturias.

This public fountain, which belongs to Oviedo Town Hall, is erected over a spring. The source is a rectangle of about 4 metres wide. It has a shape of a vaulted chapel and is crowned by the royal ensign of the Victory Cross.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Paweł Kranzberg (3 years ago)
IX century water source. Still working ?

Vladimir Titin (4 years ago)
Original 9th century fountain, one of the few well preserved and in use examples of high medieval civil architecture. Difficult to park nearby, better to walk.

María Eugenia Robles (5 years ago)
It's a historical place however it is careless

Clary Pardo Johnson (6 years ago)
Wish there was more information about this. We needed information about the historical importance.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

La Foncalada

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus