Fontana Maggiore
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Transcript
By the late thirteenth century Perugia gave its water system a public face. Fontana Maggiore marked the completion of an aqueduct that brought water into the city and turned engineering into civic theatre. Nicola and Giovanni Pisano covered the fountain with reliefs of months, occupations, biblical scenes and civic symbols.
The message was broader than “we have water.” A self-governing commune was showing that it could organise labour, finance infrastructure and place an encyclopaedia of the medieval world in its main square. The fountain is therefore both utility and political advertisement. Medieval government rarely had a press office. It had stone, water and a very visible public square.