Historical fountains

Artefacts placed within the urban fabric.


Period Nineteenth

Accessibility Yes

Visitable Yes

The town of Borgo San Dalmazzo and the nearby hamlets conserve twelve fountains of historical origin that played a fundamental role in the development of the town, representing the only source of drinking water supply for the township until the second post-war period.
Of the twelve artefacts, seven are located in the municipal capital and the rest are located in the hamlets. To these are added numerous sources and often located in private areas and small rural nucleuses, for which it was not possible to proceed with a precise location. Although many sources have already been mentioned in past centuries, almost all of these artefacts date back to the 20th century, if not after the second world war. Fountains and wash houses represent the success of a community’s efforts to govern and shape the physical space of settlements at the service of the community. They have been places of service and spaces for social gathering, as well as tools for accessing a fundamental resource such as water. Accustomed today to the use of running water in homes, we are forgetting the importance of these elements.

Among others, the Lavatoio of Via Bealera Nuova (wash house), a structure composed of a large concrete tank covered by a two-layered wooden canopy with a flagstone roof that takes its name from the channel that flows there, documented from the end of the fifteenth century . Another interesting source is that of the Camorei; the first information on this spring dates back to pre-Roman times: according to historians it was precisely from this spring that the Ligurian Bagienni came to get water with wineskins then transported it to the current Bene Vagienna. A lasting fame that even led to the creation of the first town industries: it was from here that the Parola factory drew water for its drinks and its beer; always in 1951, the plant was opened to bottle the Camorei low-mineral content water, whose structures are still present behind the spring.

Conditions of visit

All the artefacts can be reached on foot or by car.
Freely usable.

Improve

Additional information

Bibliography

  • Adriano Restifo, Fontane e lavatoio del cuneese tra storia ed architettura , ArtigraficheDIAL, Mondovì, 2007.
  • Maurizio Ristorno, Civitas Pedona: cenni storici di Borgo San Dalmazzo , Istituto grafico Bertello, Borgo San Dalmazzo, 1970.
  • Walter Cesana, Borgo San Dalmazzo, porta delle Alpi marittime. Ambiente, arte, cultura, folklore, tradizioni, curiosità , edizioni tecniche, Robilante, 1997, p. 65
  • Paolo Albertini, Borgo San Da lmazzo passato e presente, UniArt, Roddi d’Alba, 1998, pp. 101 106.