Fontebranda

The Fontebranda, in Siena

The Fontebranda is undoubtedly the most famous of the medieval fountains of Siena, mentioned since 1081. The Siena audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this brick monument with great Gothic arches, a witness of the hydraulic genius of the town.

The medieval fountain with the Gothic arches

Here is undoubtedly the most famous of the medieval fountains of Siena: the Fontebranda. Mentioned since 1081 and enlarged in the thirteenth century in its current form, it is one of the oldest and most monumental of the town. Sheltered under great brick pointed arches, of Gothic style, it forms a true building that protects its basin. For centuries, the Fontebranda played an essential role in the life of Siena: it supplied the town with water, served for domestic uses, for the watering of the animals and for the artisanal activities, notably those of the tanners and the dyers of the district. This remarkable network of fountains and underground channels, the bottini, testifies to the hydraulic genius of the people of Siena in the Middle Ages. The fountain is in the district where Saint Catherine lived. A witness of the ingenuity and the daily life of the medieval town, the Fontebranda is an interesting stop of the discovery of Siena.

What to see

You admire the most famous medieval fountain of Siena, mentioned since 1081, sheltered under great Gothic brick arches, which long supplied the town with water and served the craftsmen, tanners and dyers of the district where Saint Catherine lived, a witness of the hydraulic genius of the people of Siena and their underground network, the bottini. The Fontebranda is an emblematic monument of Siena. It is a stop to be discovered, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Fontebranda lies in a district below the heart of Siena, reachable on foot. It is an open-air monument, freely accessible. You discover it during a walk in the alleys of the medieval town.

What is the Fontebranda in Siena?

The most famous of the medieval fountains of Siena, mentioned since 1081, sheltered under great Gothic brick arches; it long supplied the town with water and served the craftsmen of the district, a witness of the hydraulic genius of the people of Siena.

Where is the Fontebranda of Siena?

In a district below the heart of Siena, in Tuscany, in Italy.