Girifalco - The Fountain of the Devil

Precious ornamentation of the church of San Rocco, in Girifalco

There are monuments that have something special about them regardless of their artistic merit. In Girifalco we have a fine example of this, the Baroque fountain properly dedicated to the governor, a certain Carlo Pacino, who in 1663 decided to place it in front of the church of San Rocco. For goodness sake, a beautiful fountain, carved in local stone, complete with a well-turned balustrade all around, but still a minor monument.

A legend at the origin of its fame

Except that since its debut on the town scene it has been accompanied by anaura of legend. Indeed, it is said that the stonemasons in charge of the work, having prepared each piece in their quarry, assembled them in the short space of a day. Thus, those who had left the village at dawn to go to work in the fields, found it beautifully made at sunset, as if by a miracle. And you know how these things went, when something strange happened, something that seemed to violate the laws of nature, the first temptation was to attribute it to the devil.

The usual superstitious people saw the devil's hand in it.

Some also had something to say about the placement, disrespectful, too close to the church and moreover with the opening only on the square. And there were also those who interpreted an imperfection in the stone as a goat's paw by way of the devilish creator's signature. Trifles, to be sure, but functional in carving into the common imagination the legend of the Devil's Fountain.