Quartiere Pianello

We know everything or almost everything about the territory of Pianello, its churches, the Convent of S. Francesco, the hospital, but little is known about the Castellane Fountains which lie within its territory.

The “Castellane Fountains” located in the lower part of Montalcino near the Fontebuia or Castellana Gate, are of great historical value that, together with other water sources, provided a system to supply water for the population of the city.

The Castellane Fountains, situated within the city walls, have the classic layout of fountains dating to the 15^th century.

The original structure of the Castellane Fountains is recorded in a fresco by Tamagni from the 1500s in the Scrittoio dello Spedale of S. Maria della Croce where, beside the two arches, a trough for animals and wash-house are visible (today, the former wash-house is a garage).

The water from these fountains was not only used for drinking water but also for dyeing with two basins probably located further down.

An interesting note was found in a document dated 1778 in which Bonaventura Laffrichi, youngest of the six children of dyer, Paolo, was reported by Gonfaloniere to the deputy because he “makes the water from the fountains turbid with the dye from clothes in the big basin where whites are washed by the washerwomen so that in addition to being stained they are also ruined by the dye…”

As children, during the summer evenings, at a time when cars were a rarity and the first televisions were only in bars, people met on the streets by the dim light of the few light bulbs while women spun wool or knit while the older people told us stories about werewolves who grew long hair and nails, howled by the light of the full moon and dipped themselves in the cold waters of the fountains to become normal again.

Today, the Castellane Fountains are rundown.  The little stone heads were removed before they could be stolen.  Rainwater and earth are weighing down on the vaults just as the stone structure is collapsing and the travertine frame has been taken over by ivy and weeds.

This testimony to the past will soon be recovered by the Municipal Administration with the hope that the restructuring will give a priceless monument back to the entire community.

Alessandro Faneschi