The Fountain of the Harpies (or Fountain of the Faith) was a fountain located in Puerta del Sol, in Madrid.
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.
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 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]
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.
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.
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.
The statues known as Mariblanca are female figures of uncertain origin which may relate to the fertility goddesses Venus or Fortuna.
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 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.
The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now only used for state ceremonies. The palace has 135,000 square metres (1,450,000 sq ft) of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest functioning royal palace and the largest by floor area in Europe.
Paseo de Recoletos is a wide boulevard in central Madrid leading from Plaza de Cibeles to Plaza de Colón.
Plaza Las Delicias is the main plaza in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The square is notable for its fountains and for the various monuments it contains. The historic Parque de Bombas and Ponce Cathedral buildings are located within the plaza, which actually consists of two squares: Plaza Muñoz Rivera on the north end, and Plaza Degetau on the southern end. The square is the center of the Ponce Historic Zone, and it is flanked by the historic Ponce City Hall to the south, the early 19th-century Teatro Fox Delicias to the north, the NRHP-listed Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño and Banco de Ponce buildings to the east, and the Armstrong-Poventud Residence to the west. The square dates back to the early Spanish settlement in Ponce of 1670. It is the main tourist attraction of the city, receiving about a quarter of a million visitors per year.
Agustí Querol i Subirats was a prominent Spanish sculptor, born in Tortosa, Catalonia.
Gregorio Fernández was a Spanish Baroque sculptor. He belongs to the Castilian school of sculpture, following the style of other great artists like Alonso Berruguete, Juan de Juni, Pompeyo Leoni and Juan de Arfe.
Perales de Tajuña is a small town in Spain, in the province and autonomous community of Madrid, located about 40 km to the southeast of Madrid in the area known as the Comarca de Las Vegas. The municipality covers 48.92 km2, has a population of 2,738 inhabitants and a population density of 55.97 inhabitants/km2. To the north it borders with Arganda del Rey and Campo Real, to the east with Tielmes, to the south with Villarejo de Salvanés, and to the west with Morata de Tajuña and Valdelaguna.
Plaza del Emperador Carlos V is a square in the city of Madrid. It is named after Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who also reigned in Spain as Charles I. However, it is referred to as Plaza de Atocha, because it is where Madrid Atocha railway station is located.
Plaza Degetau, formally Plaza Federico Degetau, is the larger of two plazas at Plaza Las Delicias, the main city square in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The other plaza is named Plaza Muñoz Rivera and is located north of Plaza Degetau. The square is notable for its fountains and for the various monuments it contains. The historic Parque de Bombas and Ponce Cathedral buildings are located bordering the north side of this plaza. The square is the center of the Ponce Historic Zone, and it is flanked by the historic Ponce City Hall to the south, the Cathedral and historic firehouse to the north, the NRHP-listed Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño and Banco de Ponce buildings to the east, and the Armstrong-Poventud Residence to the west. The square dates back to the early Spanish settlement in Ponce of 1670. It is the main tourist attraction of the city, receiving about a quarter of a million visitors per year.
Pedro de Ribera was a Spanish architect of the Baroque period.
Fuente de la India is a fountain by Giuseppe Gaggini in Havana, Cuba, at the south extreme of Paseo del Prado, about 100 m south of El Capitolio, between Monte and Dragones Streets. The figure represents the Indian woman "Habana" in whose honor Havana was named.
The fountain of Cibeles in Mexico City is a bronze replica of the fountain located in the Plaza de Cibeles in Madrid that was built during the reign of Charles III by architect Ventura Rodríguez between 1777 and 1792. The Mexican version is located at a traffic circle in Plaza Villa de Madrid, where Oaxaca, Durango, Medellín and El Oro streets converge in Colonia Roma.
The Fuente del Ángel Caído is a fountain located in the Buen Retiro Park in Madrid, Spain.
The architecture of Madrid has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets, even though Madrid possesses a modern infrastructure. Its landmarks include the Royal Palace of Madrid; the Royal Theatre with its restored 1850 Opera House; the Buen Retiro Park, founded in 1631; the 19th-century National Library building containing some of Spain's historical archives; a large number of national museums, and the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and comprising three art museums: Prado Museum, the Reina Sofía Museum, a museum of modern art, and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, which completes the shortcomings of the other two museums. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become the monument symbol of the city.
The Fountain of la Abundancia or Fuente de la Abundancia, was located in the Plaza de la Cebada (Madrid), for this plaza also was known by this name. It are preserved several architectural elements and various coats of arms, which were saved its demolition that took place in the 19th century, to be integrated into a new structure.
The Fuente de las Ranas is an emblematic fountain located in center of the Spanish city of Albacete. Built in memory of Dionisio Guardiola, was inaugurated in 1916 in the center of the current Plaza de Gabriel Lodares, having chaired several places in the city until, in 2007, it was moved to its current location, the roundabout between the Paseo de la Libertad, the Avenida de la Estación, the Paseo de la Cuba and Calle Alcalde Conangla.
Las Danaides is a fountain and sculpture in Mexico City's Alameda Central, in Mexico. The statue depicts two women representing the 50 daughters of Danaus (Danaïdes).
La Primavera is an outdoor fountain and sculpture installed in Mexico City's Alameda Central, in Mexico. The statue represents Persephone.