Fontana di Orione (Orion Fountain), Messina

The Fountain of Orion, created by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli in 1553, stands as a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture and one of the most remarkable fountains of the 16th century. Located in Piazza Duomo, it was commissioned by the city’s Senate to commemorate the completion of Messina’s first aqueduct (1530-1547), a monumental achievement in the city’s infrastructure.

Montorsoli, a disciple of Michelangelo, designed the fountain in collaboration with sculptor Domenico Vanello, blending artistic beauty with symbolic depth. The renowned art historian Bernard Berenson praised it as “the most beautiful fountain of the sixteenth century,” a testament to its artistic and architectural significance.

The fountain’s pyramidal structure is rich in Neoplatonic and alchemical symbolism, with Orion—the mythical founder of Messina—standing at the top, accompanied by his dog, Sirius. Below him, four cherubs ride dolphins, releasing streams of water into the tiers beneath them. Further down, naiads and tritons, representing the harmonious relationship between man and the sea, decorate the next levels.

The largest dodecagonal basin features four statues personifying the rivers Nile, Tiber, Ebro, and Camaro (the latter being the stream that supplies the fountain’s water). Surrounding them are eight bas-reliefs inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, depicting mythical transformations related to water.

The entire composition is a celebration of Messina’s connection to water, both in its practical necessity and mythological heritage. The dark-stone marine creatures at the base, along with four small basins and eight aquatic monsters, add further dynamism to the structure. It is believed that the humanist scientist Francesco Maurolico contributed to the iconography, composing the Latin inscriptions beneath the river statues.