Fontana di Rosello

In the valley below Sassari's medieval walls, the Fontana di Rosello is a monumental marble fountain associated with the city's history of water supply. Its present form dates mainly to the early seventeenth century, with later restorations and replacement sculptures.

Why it matters

Documents record a fountain at Rosello by 1295, and municipal statutes refer to it through the late Middle Ages. The spring served residents for centuries. The current structure, rebuilt in Mannerist style, stands outside the old circuit of walls near the historic entrance to the city.

What to notice

The fountain is arranged in two stacked marble levels, with grey bands set into the white stone. Small towers rise at the corners, while a larger circular tower bears the arms of Aragon. An inscription records works carried out in 1605–1606 under Philip III of Spain. Water flows from mascarons and figures representing the four seasons. The present season statues were installed in 1828 after the earlier set was destroyed during the 1795 anti-feudal revolts. A fragment of the original Summer is preserved at Palazzo Ducale.

Context and history

The medieval fountain is known through documents describing twelve bronze spouts shaped like lion heads. The seventeenth-century rebuilding gave the monument its current Mannerist character. The crossed arches at the top were rebuilt in 1843. No sculptor has been securely identified for the main carving, and the work remains a record of Sassari's long relationship with the spring in the Rosello valley.