The Granfonte is a monumental public fountain built in Renaissance-Baroque style, located in Leonforte. The elongated fountain extends for 24 meters, consists of 24 bronze spouts where he still gushing fresh spring water.
This structure completed in 1651 by Prince Nicolò Placido Branciforti, founder of the town of Leonforte. It was sited at the usual meeting-place for the town, and with its twenty-four spouts, provided ample and easy access. The work refers to various embodiments of the Flemish artists, at the time very widespread in Sicily, and is attributable to style and morphology to the Mariano Smiriglio architect’s artistic school from Palermo.
It is said that the Prince wanted to build it on the ruins of an old Moorish fountain, with a design similar to that of an existing fountain at that time in Amsterdam.
This monumental fountain was built with bearing walls of sandstone blocks from square cut and worked with sculptures in the round, low and high relief, engravings and decorations; twenty-four bronze spouts sorted pour water in the rectangular tank.
In the facade are visible twenty-two niches bottomless rectangular with round arches; central tower and two side with frames, ornaments and inscriptions, connected by spirals stone; two lions rampant on the side towers.
References:Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.
The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.
Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.