Category: Nature > Spring / Fountain
District: Braga > Braga > Braga > Urbanização Bracara Augusta
The Santo Adrião Fountain is located within the Bracara Augusta Urbanization, in the city of Braga. Its location is strategic, situated next to the old road that connected Braga to Falperra and which once served as a link to Guimarães, currently known as EM 309 or Rua de Santo Adrião. The fountain is adjoined to the wall of the historic Quinta de Santo Adrião, offering an accessible point of interest in the urban environment.
This setting allows visitors to observe how such an ancient element integrates into the daily life of the contemporary city, maintaining its original purpose as a public fountain in a place of passage and residence.
Dated 1636, the Santo Adrião Fountain was built during the archiepiscopate of D. Rodrigo da Cunha. Its original purpose was fundamental for local life: it supplied water to the inhabitants of the Espadanido area and also served travelers who used the important road connecting Braga to Guimarães, crossing Falperra. This fountain, which began its journey as ecclesiastical property, was later integrated into municipal assets, a transition already documented in 1738, becoming a public good serving the community.
Its presence over the centuries testifies to the importance of fountains in daily life and in ancient communication routes, before the advent of modern water supply systems.
The Santo Adrião Fountain is a remarkable example of a back-wall fountain (chafariz de espaldar), a rectangular structure made of granite stonework, typical of 17th-century public architecture. The ensemble is topped by an entablature and features, on each side, pyramidal pinnacles. At the center, crowning the fountain, a prominent Archiepiscopal Cross stands out, symbolizing the religious authority of the era.
Water spouts from the mouth of a gargoyle (carranca), a stone mascaron adorned with vegetal motifs, falling into a rectangular tank. The construction date, 1636, is prominently engraved in the stone, on the central body of the fountain, a detail that invites closer observation. This fountain, by its form and decorative elements, falls within the Mannerist style, which marked the transition between the Renaissance and the Baroque in Portugal.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 41.54077772342388, -8.412529982762482
Coordinates DMS: 41°32'26.8"N 08°24'45.1"W
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