It is located in a busy and central area of the current city, on the street of the same name, Foncalada (from the Latin fonte incalata ), but at the time it was built next to the Roman road that connected the north and south of the region and that also passed by the church of San Julián de los Prados.
It was built during the reign of Alfonso II the Chaste (791-842), it has a rectangular floor plan with an arch and a pointed barrel vault, the upper part finished in a double slope, to the north and to the south, and ends laterally in a smooth impost in a cavetto shape.
The Cross of Victory is sculpted in relief on its pediment . Below the cross are two well-preserved inscriptions—others are so deteriorated that they are difficult to read and interpret—which can be translated as follows:
(HOC SIGN) OR TVETVR PIVS, HOC SIGN VI (NCITVR, INIMICVS)
· This sign protects the pious. This sign defeats the enemy.
(SIGNVM SALVTIS PO) NE DOMINE IN SOURCE (ISTA VT NON PERMITAS) INTROIRE ANGELVM PERCV (TIENTEM)
· Lord, put the sign of salvation on this fountain so that you do not allow the striking angel to enter.
It is a drinking water fountain, the only example of its kind preserved to this day within Asturian pre-Romanesque art , and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously used civil monument in Spain.
Foncalada was restored in the 90s, as it was in a state of great disrepair, and was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998 as part of the designation Monuments of Oviedo and the Kingdom of Asturias.
Asturian Pre-Romanesque Route in Oviedo
There are many architectural gems that were forged during 200 years of the Asturian monarchy. An extensive heritage of great value that has a good number of monuments in Oviedo, although outside the municipality of Oviedo we can also enjoy: Santa Cristina de Lena, the church of Santianes de Pravia, San Pedro de Nora in Las Regueras, Santiago de Gobiendes... and many more representative monuments of a local art.
The Asturian pre-Romanesque of Oviedo
The most traditional architecture of Asturias dates back more than a thousand years. The traces of… Read more
Text: © Ramón Molleda for asturias.com
