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Fuente Egipcia

This is an impressive fountain built on the southern shore of the Estanque Grande or the Big Pond, according to the design of the architect Isidro Velázquez, which was dedicated to the God Osiris. The original project featured a fragment of shaft from a column that supported the statue of this Egyptian god. Made by Alfonso Rodríguez, it was not completed until 1850 and forms part of the series of initiatives undertaken during the reign of Fernando VII to transform the park into a picturesque garden. This fountain is known by multiple names, such as ‘La Canopa’, the fountain of Osiris, the fountain of ‘El Mallo’, which was the channel that flowed out of the lake, and, on a more popular note, ‘La Gorda’ (the Fat One), ‘La Tripona’ (the Pot-Bellied One) or ‘La Preñá’ (the Pregnant One). It had a pond at the back and a square-shaped waterwheel on each side, although this arrangement was later reformed, and a closed area for storage was put in the place of the pond. In 1995 it was restored and the two plaster sphinxes adorning it were replaced with replicas in more hardwearing material.

Fuente Egipcia photograph