When they spotted those statues of four crouching lions, in a warehouse of Naples at the bottom of secrets of the Maschio Angioino, the Municipality’s experts had no idea where it came from. They involved the Superintendence, they started one of those fascinating investigations into the art of the past that require time, patience and great attention to detail. They eventually discovered that the lions came from «Fountain of Enchantments» which today is abandoned in Posillipo, in the square Savior of James and there is nothing enchanting about it at all: «But soon it will return to being a monumental fountain and gushing as it did until the beginning of the last century», they explain enthusiastically from Palazzo San Giacomo.
The restoration
The restoration operations of the four lions that made the fountain monumental are starting in these hours. In the meantime, the ABC has also begun work on the refunctionalization of the fountain some time ago to restore the jets around the pool: then, in a short time, probably before the summer, the lions and the fountain of the enchantments will return to being truly enchanting.
The news takes on particular relevance these days because, exactly one year ago, a protest installation was created with which, on the bases where the lions once were (and where they will return shortly) four toilets were hoisted flanked by a mocking “state of the art” sign.
Disappearance
How long have the lions been abandoned in the dungeons of the Maschio Angioino? A precise date was not revealed. That move to storage probably occurred on the occasion of the last of the countless moves to which the fountain, which has sixteenth-century origins, was subjected.
At the end of the 19th century, following the upheavals of Redevelopment of Naples, the tank was installed in Piazza Mercato. Then it was decided to transfer it to Posillipoin its current location: on that occasion it was dismembered to be rebuilt in the current Piazza Salvatore Di Giacomo, the reorganization was carried out halfway, the lions remained in the warehouses and then, little by little, they were moved further and further down, until they reached the secrets of Castel Nuovo where they have only been rediscovered in recent days.
The owl
In reality, for the Neapolitans that fountain never had the courtly name with which it was baptized at the time of the viceroy Don Pedro of Toledo, “fountain of the Enchantments”: the people of the city have always called it the “Coccovaja” fountain, that is of the owl.
The name, according to the most common explanation, derives from the coat of arms engraved on top of the structure, the viceregal symbol representing an eagle with the arms of Charles V. There is, however, another possible explanation. At the time it was built, that monumental fountain was enriched by statues of Greek myth, one of which was Minerva who was sculpted with the sacred animal on her arm, an owl. Probably that very representation gave rise to the name that was used by the people to identify that fountain.
The jets of water initially flowed into the ancient one Olmo square, which in the sixteenth century was exactly opposite the port. It served to offer water to the people who lived in the populous port area but also to the departing crews, it was a gesture of generosity from the city towards the sailors. Piazza dell’Olmo no longer exists (today it runs in that place via Depretis), and even the fountain, as it was born, no longer exists. Overwhelmed and destroyed by the revolution of Masaniello it was subjected to many restorations and many moves, the last of which, as mentioned, in Market Square before the definitive transfer to Posillipo.
The last restoration, the one that introduced the lions recovered today, dates back to the end of the 19th century and was carried out by Pietro Bianchithe architect who designed the church of Saint Francis of Paola to Plebiscito square.
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Tags: Naples Fountain Enchantments finds forgotten lions Maschio Angioino
