Pirja Fountain

The Pirja fountain

The Split audio-guided tour presents you with the Pirja fountain, an intriguing bronze sculpture of the Marmontova street, a symbol of resilience.

A symbol of resilience

Also called "Figa i Pirja", this bronze sculpture has stood on the Marmontova street since 1998. The work of the Croatian sculptor Kažimir Hraste, it takes on a particular importance: it is the only monument built during the difficult 1990s, a period of reconstruction after the Croatian war of independence, an ordeal that one evokes with gravity. The work is composed of a funnel placed on the ground and a bronze hand coming out of the wall, whose thumb passes between the index and middle fingers, forming the local gesture of the "figa". Far from being vulgar, this sign expresses the obstinacy and the resilience of the Croatian people in the face of adversity. The water that springs from the hand towards the funnel symbolises the perpetual movement of life, the progress that continues even in the dark moments.

What there is to see

The Pirja fountain intrigues with its bronze hand making the figa gesture and its water flowing towards a funnel, on the Marmontova street. Beyond its originality, it carries a strong message of resilience, inherited from the years of reconstruction of Croatia. It is a symbolic and surprising stop, to be discovered along the walk.

Practical information

The Pirja fountain is on the Marmontova street, in the centre of Split. An open-air work, it can be contemplated freely at all hours and on the level, along the walk.

What does the Pirja fountain symbolise?

The obstinacy and the resilience of the Croatian people in the face of adversity, through the "figa" gesture and the moving water.

Who created the Pirja fountain?

The Croatian sculptor Kažimir Hraste, in 1998; it is the only monument built in Split during the 1990s.