Fontanilla

The Fontanilla is the former public fountain of

Pinzón Brothers^[3] upon the voyage widely considered to have led the "discovery" of what historians term the "New World

".

La Fontanilla is the least dramatic, but perhaps the most original and authentic monument among the so-called Lugares colombinos, the places in Huelva closely associated with Columbus's first voyage.^[4]

Origin and architectural style

There were two places where water was drawn in Palos: the fountain of Villafrías,

Río Tinto

came practically to its base, with a pier that provided the most direct access to the town from the sea. This was almost certainly the pier from which Columbus's ships departed.

the Pinzón Brothers, near the Fontanilla, in Palos.

On the way from the Puerta de los Novios^[6] of the Church of Saint George the Martyr (Iglesia de San Jorge Mártir), walking toward the nearby site of the former pier,^[7] one finds the Fontanilla, the former public fountain constructed on a base that dates back to Roman times, and protected by a tetrapylum, a sort of gazebo, constructed of stone in the 13th century in the Mudéjar style, with a quadrangular base, with the protective roof having a hemispheric vaulted exterior and a pyramidal interior. The support consists of four slightly depressed semicircular arches, supported on angular pillar reinforced by abutments

.

When the fountain was actually in use, the fountain proper was in the center, and the sides were open gutters where the water ran, gathering on the eastern side in a long

Cruz del Campo in Seville, so related to the origin of the celebrations of Holy Week in Seville

.

Currently, the Fontanilla is restored with a brick finish. The gargoyle at the exit is the only wooden element, and one can view the Fontanilla either from the road into Palos from Moguer, or from a viewpoint on the heights of the hill of the settled part of town, looking toward its surrounding gardens.

Notes

^ Ortega 1986, Volume III, p. 354
ISBN 978-84-9840-020-5
.

^ "La Fontanilla". Andalucia.org. Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Turismo, Comercio y Deporte. Retrieved 8 August 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}

^ Izquierdo Labrado, Julio (2003). "Breve historia de Palos de la Frontera". Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

^ Izquierdo Labrado 1987, p. 63

^ A door of the church. Novios does not translate easily in this context; it means a couple in love, and can variously mean anything from people who are dating to newlyweds. So, roughly, "Lovers' Door," but with no suggestion of anything illicit.

^ Ortega 1986, Vol. III, p. 353

ISBN 978-84-8004-027-3
.

References

Izquierdo Labrado, Julio (1987), Palos de la Frontera en el Antiguo Régimen (1380–1830), Huelva: Instituto de Cooperación Iberoamericana and Ayuntamiento de Palos de la Frontera, Dep. leg. H-110/87

ISBN 978-84-500-3860-6

37°13′53″N 6°53′27″W / 37.23139°N 6.89092°W / 37.23139; -6.89092

[1] Ortega 1986, Volume III, p. 354

[2] ISBN 978-84-9840-020-5
.

[3] "La Fontanilla". Andalucia.org. Junta de Andalucía, Consejería de Turismo, Comercio y Deporte. Retrieved 8 August 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}

[4] Izquierdo Labrado, Julio (2003). "Breve historia de Palos de la Frontera". Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

[5] Izquierdo Labrado 1987, p. 63

[6] A door of the church. Novios does not translate easily in this context; it means a couple in love, and can variously mean anything from people who are dating to newlyweds. So, roughly, "Lovers' Door," but with no suggestion of anything illicit.

[7] Ortega 1986, Vol. III, p. 353

[8] ISBN 978-84-8004-027-3
.

[3]

[4]

[6]

[7]