Fountain of the Harpies

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Fountain of the Harpies (Puerta del Sol, Madrid). Drawing of 1707 by Juan Alvarez de Colmenar, entitled La Fontaine et la Place du Soleil a Madrit. Fountain of the Harpies.jpg
Fountain of the Harpies (Puerta del Sol, Madrid). Drawing of 1707 by Juan Álvarez de Colmenar, entitled La Fontaine et la Place du Soleil à Madrit.
Azulejo street-sign in Puerta del Sol with a historic depiction of the fountain and the square at the time. Puerta del Sol - 01.jpg
Azulejo street-sign in Puerta del Sol with a historic depiction of the fountain and the square at the time.

The Fountain of the Harpies (or Fountain of the Faith) was a fountain located in Puerta del Sol, in Madrid.

Fountain piece of architecture which ejects water

A fountain is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air to supply drinking water and/or for a decorative or dramatic effect.

Puerta del Sol Square in Madrid, Spain

The Puerta del Sol is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year. The New Year's celebration has been broadcast live on national television since 31 December 1962.

Madrid Capital of Spain

Madrid is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.3 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union (EU), surpassed only by London and Berlin, and its monocentric metropolitan area is the third-largest in the EU, smaller only than those of London and Paris. The municipality covers 604.3 km2 (233.3 sq mi).

It was designed by Italian Rutilio Gaci in 1618 and made in 1625 by the Catalan sculptor Antonio de Riera, in collaboration with Francisco del Río, Guillem de Bona and Martín de Azpillaga. Plumbers masters were Sebastián de la Oliva and Juan del Río the Elder.

According to the documentation of the time, the fountain consisted of four pipes (placed on figures of harpies throwing water over their breasts, all in gilded bronze), twelve masks, four feet and four pyramids for seat and finnish of other so many balls. [1]

Harpy group of harpies in the Greek mythology

In Greek mythology and Roman mythology, a harpy is a half-human and half-bird personification of storm winds. They feature in Homeric poems.

It was demolished in early-18th century for rise in its place the Fountain de La Mariblanca.

Fountain de La Mariblanca

The Fountain de La Mariblanca was a fountain located in Puerta del Sol, in Madrid. Now demolished. Not to be confused with other fountains located in Madrid and Spain with the same name.

The statue on top

With regard to the Mariblanca statue, it was bought in Italy by the Florentine merchant Ludovico Turchi, from a custom 1619 of the Junta de las Fuentes, an agency under the Madrilenian City Hall, which paid the amount of 15,000 reales for this and other mythological sculptures, acquired for the ornate of the capital.

Mariblanca

The statues known as Mariblanca are female figures of uncertain origin which may relate to the fertility goddesses Venus or Fortuna.

Spanish real currency

The real was a unit of currency in Spain for several centuries after the mid-14th century. It underwent several changes in value relative to other units throughout its lifetime until it was replaced by the peseta in 1868. The most common denomination for the currency was the silver eight-real Spanish dollar or peso which was used throughout Europe, America and Asia during the height of the Spanish Empire.

The statue remained stored several years until, in 1625, when it was finished the fountain, could be placed on top.

Although this is an image of Venus, the figure was misidentified with a representation of the Faith. Hence the fountain was known both this name as that of the Harpies, referring to the aforementioned sculptures.

Venus Second planet from the Sun in the Solar System

Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. As the second-brightest natural object in the night sky after the Moon, Venus can cast shadows and, rarely, is visible to the naked eye in broad daylight. Venus lies within Earth's orbit, and so never appears to venture far from the Sun, setting in the west just after dusk and rising in the east a bit before dawn. Venus orbits the Sun every 224.7 Earth days. With a rotation period of 243 Earth days, it takes longer to rotate about its axis than any planet in the Solar System and goes in the opposite direction to all but Uranus. Venus does not have any natural satellites, a distinction it shares only with Mercury among planets in the Solar System.

Statue of La Mariblanca remains in its current location in Casa de la Villa, Madrid.

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