Draft:French Fountain (Redenção Park)

French Fountain

The French Fountain, also known as the Imperial Fountain, is a cast iron fountain located in Parque Farroupilha, the main park in the city of Porto Alegre, in the Rio Grande do Sul state of Brazil.

History

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The sculptor was created by Carrier-Belleuse in 1866 in France. It later was imported to Porto Alegre along with six other fountains. Originally located in the Praça da Alfândega in front of the old Customs House, it was later moved to Paraíso Square (now Praça XV de Novembro), where it stayed until 1925, before being relocated to Praça Pereira Parobé, a square next to the Mercado Público de Porto Alegre.

Following the flood of 1941, it was transferred to its current location in the "European Corner" of Parque Farroupilha.

Features

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The fountain is one of the two features of the European Corner, an area designed to evoke a European-style garden, the other being the "Roman Pergola". The fountain consists of two main basins. From an ovoid pinecone at the top, water flows from the mouths of four small spouts shaped like lion heads into the upper basin.

This basin is rounded and features eight small rose-shaped spouts from which water cascades. The sculptures depict three children. Below them is the main basin of the fountain. This basin has spouts featuring sculptures of angry faces adorned with reeds and other plants. Below this basin, four large lion heads adorned with volutes and branches also release water, which cascades through two levels before reaching the base. Surrounding the fountain is a series of small cascades, a path with bridges and stairs, and a landscape of flower beds, topiary plants, and California fan palms.

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30°02′12″N 51°12′50″W / 30.03667°N 51.21389°W / 30.03667; -51.21389