Fuente del Concejo o de la Villa

Descripción

The fountain of the Council is the only existing fountain in the urban area of the town, in the historic center, just below the current Plaza del Sacristán Guerrero and facing the former Palace-House of the Counts of Castellar (current City Hall) as the chronicler of the Mercedarian order, Fray Pedro de San Cecilio refers: “It has a single source of fresh water, which comes from the head of a barrier adjacent to the Palace of the Counts”.

As Madoz indicates, the water of the fountain was of a regular quality, which in the town has always been described as “fat” water, a fact that made it necessary to draw water, either from private wells, or from the nearby fountains of La Muela or La Alunada, which were more suitable for human consumption.

The source of the water is to be found in a spring improved by “a curious system of mines, which, according to information, would start from the very bowels of the promontory where the parish church is located”. We have to say that this system of mines starts from the Alcor itself, so we find a reference to the so-called lumbreras (today Lumbreras street) “where the water comes to the source of it [of the town]”.

The fountain, as well as the mountains, meadows, etc., were the property of the lord, as evidenced by the founding document of the estate “consisting of the town of Viso with its vassals, terms, mountains, meadows, pastures, pastures, meadows, running water, shelves and manantes…”. Its importance is reflected in the Municipal Ordinances, which specify that those responsible for ensuring the cleaning of the fountain, every two years, were the Ordinary Mayors who, in addition, had the obligation to fix and clean the wells at the expense of the Council. So that the water was not contaminated with soap, it was strictly forbidden, and under fine, to wash clothes both in the fountain and in the pillar, hence the faithful in charge of its maintenance and cleaning had the power to arrest the person or persons who were caught washing in these places. We are before a complex system of pipes that conducts the water from the fountain, through a pipe parallel to the walls of the house-palace, to a pillar or trough where no neighbor could take his oxen to drink without permission from the Council. The water from the fountain, in turn, discharged into the washing place that depended on the lessors of the huerta de la Villa or below, (owned by the Council in the sixteenth century) so they were obliged to have it full of water “so that women can wash in it, as it has always been used, especially on Friday and Saturday… under penalty of one hundred maravedíes for the Council”. In addition, the lessors of the orchard were obliged to clean the pool and the pillar every month, thus avoiding the accumulation of silt and dirt. In the event that the pool was empty, they were obliged to have the one known as “la de abajo” (the one below) ready. From the pool the water ran to the Alcantarilla stream. Another branch or pipe from the fountain was directed to the convent of mercedarios that had by grant of Don Gaspar Juan Arias de Saavedra, since 1625, the concession of half a straw of water.

When it was necessary to fix the pillar or the washing place, and, given that the water belonged to the Lord, the repairs were paid between the Lord and the Council, according to the agreement between both parties. The fountain gave rise to conflicts between the neighbors and the Mercedarian convent, who took more water than they had been granted, as occurred in June 1654, when it was detected that the fountain was not giving water. Faced with this circumstance, the Cabildo decided to gather the neighbors and open the fountain, finding its cannons clogged. Faced with this fact, it was decided to ask for damages to the Father Commander and the Provincial, who reproached the facts. A few years earlier, in 1643, a transcendental change in the appearance of the fountain took place, as the Chapter agreed to ask the Count to cover it because, being uncovered, “many things are thrown in and many children fall in”. This was the first change that took place in the fountain, since, when it was covered, a vault had to be built, over which, in time, houses would be built. These houses disappeared around the fifties of the last century, when the Cross of the Fallen was erected.

“From the most remote antiquity, the hill where the present Parish Church is located was a sacred place related to a magical route; in which this sacredness has lasted until today” (Peláez).

According to traditional historiography, the chapel of Cristo del Amor (the oldest part of the Parish) was a Muslim marabout of the small Andalusian village of El Viso.

Possibly, it was a Franciscan hermitage in the fifteenth century dedicated to Santa Maria del Alcor, as deduced from the reading of the Bull of Nicolaś V, the ITER ECLESIASTICOS, given in Rome on August 5, 1447.

With the demographic growth of the village, this small chapel would be expanded (late fifteenth century-early sixteenth century) and become the Church of El Viso, which would receive the dedication, like that of the neighboring Mairena, of Santa Maria del Alcor.

This religious place is also associated, as it could not be otherwise, to a fountain or spring: the Fuente del Concejo.

The Fountain is associated with a Roman water mine, which, according to testimonies of old wells, crosses the urban area. It has been explored by the Andalusian Association of Underground Explorations (AAES), but it has only been possible to study a few meters, since the shafts have been covered and there have been landslides. The most remarkable thing is the discovery of some engravings on the fresh mortar that date from 1874 and that provide us with a list of the participants in a waterproofing work using lime mortar in the final zone of the mine.

Galería

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