Quattro Fontane di Taormina (Four Fountains of Taormina), Taormina

"Four Fountains," actually one, is located in Cathedral Square (Piazza Duomo), in front of the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas of Bari. It was built in 1635 by the Municipality of Taormina. It has the nickname "four fountains" from four small columns at each corner. Each column has its basin and a spouting horse with fins for legs.

Two basins form the central part of the fountain. The rim of the lesser basin is engraved with four names. It seems that Vincenzo Spuches, Vincenzo Cacopardo, Geronimo Mena, and Cesare Onion were the movers and shakers of the town that ordered the construction of the fountain.

In the middle of the small basin, a pedestal lifts a crowned, androgynous Centaur figure above the waterworks, holding a globe and cross in the right hand and a scepter in the left hand. The figure is a bit obese. The belly hangs over its lower parts.

What story does the fountain tell? The androgynous Centaur is the symbol of Taormina. The crown, orb, and scepter indicate power and sovereignty. Each hippocampus is meant to spout water from the mouth but they do not always work all the time.