Description
The Cast-Iron Fountain (Fontana in Ghisa) is a late-19th-century fountain on Viale della Libertà in Messina, in front of the side entrance of the former Fair: all that is left of the furnishings of the old seaside garden, the Chalet dedicated to King Umberto I.
It is made of cast iron, the work of local Messina foundry craftsmen. From a large circular basin rises a stele decorated with cherub heads spouting water, and at the top the stele holds two more basins, one above the other.
The garden that was its home was a park full of greenery, right on the sea. In 1938, on its grounds, more than 50,000 square meters, the new Messina Fair began to take shape, with its sixteen pavilions designed as a courtyard open toward the sea.
The fountain has seen it all go by: the pavilions, the bombings of the war and finally the closing of the Fair, in 2013.
It is made of cast iron, the work of local Messina foundry craftsmen. From a large circular basin rises a stele decorated with cherub heads spouting water, and at the top the stele holds two more basins, one above the other.
The garden that was its home was a park full of greenery, right on the sea. In 1938, on its grounds, more than 50,000 square meters, the new Messina Fair began to take shape, with its sixteen pavilions designed as a courtyard open toward the sea.
The fountain has seen it all go by: the pavilions, the bombings of the war and finally the closing of the Fair, in 2013.