This is one of the historic fountains of the city that, although located outside the walls, was once one of the most popular and loved by people from Teramo. This fountain, which was mentioned in the citizen statutes of 1440, is remembered on several occasions - but not described - in the chronicles and local anecdotes. It is located under the current Ragusa ring road, on a side road. It branched off from the road which, from the vegetable gardens of the Congregation of charity on the right bank of the Vezzola torrent before its confluence with the Tordino River, went upwards towards the door of Santo Stefano which no longer exists. On the other side, it curved left towards the Sanctuary of Sant’Angelo delle Donne, today S. Maria delle Grazie. This latter road is the only access to the fountain today. Although highly considered by the locals and people who come here and praise the fact that it is cool especially during the summer months, the water at Fonte della Noce is not particularly healthy notwithstanding almost miraculous powers are traditionally attributed to it.
The saying "ha bbevute a la Fonde de la Noce" (he drank from Fonte della Noce) to mean the ability to indissolubly join the stranger or foreigner who tasted it to Teramo continues to resist. Today, more prosaically, it is possible to affirm that the water of this perennial fountain possesses a constant temperature. This once made the water much sought after especially by the laundresses who found it warm in winter and cool in summer.
A historical episode is linked to this fountain. It is narrated to us by the first citizen chronicler Muzio Muzii and goes back to 1514 when Giovanna queen of Naples visited Teramo. Some dignitaries from the queen’s entourage had tasted that water and praised the place, the limpidity and coolness of that source very much. Therefore, the queen ordered that the following day, the dinner and table be prepared right in front of the fountain which was enriched and decorated with garlands and jets of water. That dinner represented a true Renaissance party with the accompaniment of musicians and dances.
From an architectural and artistic point of view, the fountain does not have particular merits except for the basin used for collecting the water jet which is made of hard stone and presumably comes from the quarries of Civitella del Tronto and, perhaps, dates back to the sixteenth century (but it should not to be excluded that it is a mid-19th century remake). Although the rest of the artifacts are scenographic, they have structural changes due to being tampered with in various periods. On the other hand, the “cobblestones” with round river stones is noteworthy. They are proof of a construction technique that is no longer retrievable – except for brief fragments - in the urban road system.
Traduzione: Classe 3BLL del Liceo linguistico statale Giannina Milli
CONTENUTI AGGIUNTIVI
Scopri Teramo... con gli occhi di un adolescente (I.C. Falcone-Borsellino)
