Sereia Fountain - Lamego

The Sereia Fountain gets its name from the fact that it features a sculpture of a merman riding a dolphin – a figure that most visitors consider to be a mermaid

The construction of the fountain was completed in 1869 , as the inscription on the facade of the fountain indicates.

The name of this fountain takes us back to the pagan mythological universe and introduces in the sanctuary the controversy of introducing this type of element in the Baroque counter-reformist aesthetic, which went against the positions of the time, but was ultimately successful throughout Italy and beyond, to the point of being accepted by the Popes themselves. This fact caused some controversy with this fountain, as we will see below.

This fountain is a quadrangular construction , provided with a hollowed-out niche arch . Inside the niche, the water flows from three bowls into a half granite bowl, which in turn lets it fall into a semicircular reservoir.

On the half shell is a merman with a shell , sitting on a dolphin , both made of white marble. It was designed and built in Lisbon by Cinatti.

Today it is known as the Mermaid Fountain, although the fountain never had a mermaid . However, the merman riding a dolphin makes it look like a mermaid to the average visitor.

willem vandenameele