Fonte Mourisca

"Built in 1922 according to a project by Master José da Fonseca to replace the old Fountain of the Chamber, the Fonte Mourisca was built, according to its author, "to dignify the most appreciated water in Sintra". Thus, to provide the best water in the town, the most beautiful fountain in Sintra was built. Dismantled in 1960 and preserved, the Fonte Mourisca is today 20 meters further along the Volta do Duche than its original building, in the place where it was relocated in 1982. An example of the revivalist modernism of the 20s of the last century, Fonte Mourisca is characterized by a certain academic formalism that was very fashionable at that time. Its architecture is notable especially in terms of the exterior sculpture and the intense play of colors of the tiles inside, which gain even more beauty at the end of the day or with its night lighting. The Fonte Mourisca has a large denticulated horseshoe arch in which three other arches open, also in denticulated horseshoe, through which you enter the interior of the fountain. Holding and separating these three arches are columns with a geometric frieze similar to those present in the Paço Real da Vila, topped in the middle by a stone sculpture of the coat of arms of the municipality of Sintra. Both the exterior and interior of Fonte Mourisca present an intense polychromy of neo-mudejar tiles. An obligatory stopping point for all those who make the connection on foot between the train station and the historic center, Fonte Mourisca is a pleasant space to rest and refresh yourself, enjoying its water and also the beautiful architecture of one of the most well-known monuments in the town of Sintra."