Subbetica
The Lion Fountain
Also known as the Fountain of the Republic. It was built during the Second Republic and unveiled by Don Niceto Alcalá Zamora, the Republic’s president. The lion was the symbol of this political regime.
The fountain consists of a small red granite pediment attached to a masonry retaining wall. At the top is a sign indicating that the water is drinkable, and in the centre is the face of a lion carved in stone, from whose mouth a spout of water flows into a semi-circular basin 50 cm high.
The fountain is set within a rectangular area paved with modern marble slabs, which also includes a few benches for sitting.
In the past, at the top of the fountain there was a plaque bearing the original name ‘Fuente de la República’; however, in the years following the end of the Civil War, this inscription was chiselled away with a hammer and chisel, and the fountain acquired its current name, the Fuente del León.