La Fuentecilla on the street of Toledo
Declared BIC on May 9, 1996
The Fuentecilla de la calle de Toledo was declared an Asset of Cultural Interest on May 9, 1996 by virtue of the initiation file published in the Official State Gazette on July 8, 1977. The file was thus regularized, under the Statute of Autonomy, of articles 6.a, 9.2 and Transitory Provision 6ª.1 of Law 16/1985, of the Spanish Historical Patrimony.
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Historical introduction
Values that justify the declaration of the good
It is located on Calle de Toledo, at the entrance to Calle de la Arganzuela. Its origin is ancient and uncertain; Some locate it in 1618, but an approximate date of 1629 is more accurate, if one takes into account that it was part of the set of 30 public fountains that were supplied by the Bajo Abroñigal Water Trip, whose starting date is located in 1619 Therefore, it is unlikely that the water that supplied it existed before the trip.
At the beginning of the reign of Fernando VII, expansion works, reform of the water travel network and the opening of new mines were proposed to give a better service to a population that was in continuous growth. The realization of the so-called "Fuentecilla", as it is currently known, whose construction date is in 1816 would be framed in this area. Thus, this would be the first fountain-monument that was erected in Madrid.
In a monolith with a square granite stone plan, topped by triangular pediments, the three pipes are placed, which drain into a basin. On the fronts there are the shields of the Villa, the bear and the strawberry tree and the dragon, both crowned. On the front facing Calle de Toledo, resting on the lower plinth and framing a commemorative plaque in marble dedicated by the City Council to Fernando VII, now largely erased, there are sculptures of two legendary animals: the bear and the dragon.
Above the pediments is the white marble finish, consisting of a pedestal with the seven stars of Madrid and, on it, a lion that welcomes the two terrestrial hemispheres in its claws. The authorship of the set is uncertain, since some authors indicate that the sculptural set comes from the old Premonstratensian Convent, destroyed during the War of Independence; Others point out that the marble used for this came from the aforementioned convent and the sculptor Manuel Álvarez would work there, on which no data has been found. In any case, the Fuentecilla follows the prevailing neoclassical style at the time.
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