Fountain of Hercules (Asola) – Wikipedia

The Fountain of Hercules It is an ornamental fountain of the 16th century, located in Asola in Piazza XX Settembre.

Built in Botticino marble, it stands in correspondence with an ancient well for the public supply of water. The whole work was commissioned between 1593 and 1595 by the Council with the intent to embellish the city center. It has always been a true city pride since its realization.

The research attributes the design of the work to the painter and architect Pietro Maria Bagnadore, active at the court of Alfonso Gonzaga in Novellara. ^[first]

The fountain was made by several sculptors while the statue depicting Hercules who crush the Idra is the work of the sculptor Antonio Carra (said Brambilla ). ^[2] We also find the artist himself in the realization of the Fountain of the Torre della Pallata in Brescia.

In the autumn of 1946 some young people in an attempt to turn the statue led to its almost total destruction.

The current copy of the statue was performed a few years later by Mario Salazzari (1904-1993), remembered as one of the major exponents of the artistic life of Verona in the twentieth century. In his study, the original fragments of the work remained for almost twenty years until the 1985 restoration curated by the Asolano marble Franco Terni . The restored original copy was laid first next to the entrance staircase of the town hall and then transported to the entrance hall of the Goffredo Bellini civic museum, where it is currently located.

In 2016, the fountain was the subject of important cleaning and restoration works, thanks also to the numerous donations by citizens. ^[3]

The historian and writer Carlo Gozzi (Castel Goffredo 1780 – Castel Goffredo 1846), in the Collection of documents for the history of homeland or homemade historical effemerids. Volume II , he stated that the marble complex, composed of tub and statue, had for centuries placed in the Mazzini square in Castel Goffredo and was donated, with a notarial act, to the Asolans by the Marquis Alfonso Gonzaga as a sign of gratitude for having granted him a loan of three hundred florins d ‘gold. ^[4]

On 12 October 1830, during some excavations in the square, two terracotta tubes came to light, which brought water to the fountain, from the Cavallara-Silvello area north of the country. ^[4]

Eight marble columns delimit the border of the quadrilobed tub, while four marine horses alternating with dolphins support a second basin made up of four shells on which the pedestal rests, which holds the sculptural group of the huch that crushes the hydra.

The choice of the theme of the Ento in the act of crushing the hydra is linked to the founding myth that Brescia adopts under Pandolfo III Malatesta, lord of the city from 1406 to 1421. In this period in the wake of humanistic impulses, we feel the need to Inventing an ascending that renovates to the ancient: Hercules is thus chosen, the hero par excellence symbol of strength, virtue, altruism and justice. ^[first]

Four shields are identifiable in the bottom of the basin: two corresponding to the coats of arms of the Provider and the Podestà, one of the Municipality and the other with an inscription that recalls some restoration works carried out in 1826.

• 

  Fontana di Ercole – Piazza XX Settembre

• 

  Fountain of Hercules after restoration

• 

  Fountain of Hercules after restoration

• 

  Fountain of Hercules before restoration

• 

  Statue of Hercules made by the sculptor Antonio Carra

• 

  Statue of Hercules made by the sculptor Antonio Carra

• 

  Fountain of Hercules destroyed in 1946 – Appeal of the mayor against unknown persons

• Antonio Besutti, History of Asola , Asola, 1952. ISBN not existing
• Armando Bertuzzi, The fountain of Hercules , 1977. ISBN not existing
• Pro -crazy to gather, Welcome to Asola ” Rustica and Mrs. ”, Guide , Asola 2006
• Trelune, Goffredo Bellini civic museum, history of a collection, Asola 2014
• Carlo Gozzi, Collection of documents for homeland history or homemade historical effemerids, 1736-1800. Volume II , Mantova, 2003, ISBN 88-7495-059-4.