Morosini Fountain (Lions Fountain)
Morosini Fountain (Lions Fountain) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Heraklion. Give it roughly ~20 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type monument
- Suggested visit ~20 min
- Heraklion Heraklion guide
About Morosini Fountain (Lions Fountain)
Four marble lions crown this Venetian fountain, fed by a fifteen-kilometre mountain aqueduct and folded into eight lobes so that up to forty people could fill their jars at once.
The Morosini Fountain, popularly known as ta Liontaria, or The Lions, stands at the centre of Lions Square and was made in 1628 by the General Provveditore Francesco Morosini. Built to relieve the town's water shortage, it was fed by an aqueduct roughly fifteen kilometres long that carried water from springs on Mount Youchtas, near Archanes.
Four lions on a tall octagonal pedestal support the upper basin, from whose mouths the water once flowed. The eight-lobed lower cistern is carved with scenes of Greek mythology and the sea, including tritons, dolphins and nymphs, alongside the coats of arms of the Doge, the Duke and Morosini. The lobed plan lengthened the rim so that as many as forty people could draw water at once, and beneath the fountain seven stone levels completed the aqueduct. It was inaugurated on 25 April 1628, the feast of St Mark.
Did you know? The eight-lobed basin was a crowd-management trick. Each scalloped lobe held about five people, so up to forty could draw water at once, and there were no taps, the water simply welled up from below.
How long is a visit to Morosini Fountain (Lions Fountain)?
Set aside roughly ~20 min for Morosini Fountain (Lions Fountain). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Morosini Fountain (Lions Fountain) worth your time?
Morosini Fountain (Lions Fountain) is among the 20 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Heraklion, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Heraklion
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Hear the story of Morosini Fountain (Lions Fountain)
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