"A lovely little fountain in a beautiful part of a gorgeous town!"

Charlie Kinloch

"Fantastic fountain ⛲"

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"The Fontana del Toro is located on one side of the Church of San Domenico and opposite the Guglia dell'Immacolata in Piazza Salandra.
This fountain was built in 1930 by local sculptor Michele Gaballo, coinciding with the completion of the Puglia aqueduct, one of the longest in Europe. The fountain is embedded in one of the walls of the Church of San Domenico, with the image of a bull with one of its front legs raised as if scratching the ground, implying that it is causing the water that overflows from the stone basin to cascade into the lower basin. On either side of the fountain are two niches with jugs and two human masks that pour water through their mouths, allowing the water to be collected in a container. On the sides, on the bases supporting a semicircular arch, you can see the coat of arms of Nardò, with the bull, and of the province of Lecce, with a writhing dolphin biting an Islamic crescent moon, the symbol of the coat of arms of the province of the Land of Otranto since the 15th century, which derives from the wars against the Ottoman Turks throughout the 15th and 16th centuries.
The fountain represents the emblem of the city of Nardò, the bull. According to an ancient legend, the city was born on the spot where a bull discovered a spring of water by scratching its hoof in the ground. From that moment on, a small settlement grew up on this spot, which would eventually become the heart of the future city of Nardò. However, aside from this beautiful tradition, the beginning of this legend probably dates back to the 15th century, a period when the Spanish controlled the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily. It's worth remembering that the bull was an animal closely associated with the Spanish Crown, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to think that the Spanish themselves devised this legend, influenced by the important symbolism of the bull in Spanish culture and even adapting it to the idea of ​​a fortress in the kingdoms of Naples, under the rule of the Crown of Aragon since the 15th century, and Sicily since the 13th century.
Today, the bull is the symbol of Nardò, represented on the city's coat of arms, with the Latin motto "tauro non bovi" (bull, not ox). A beautiful and unusual fountain dispenses fresh, delicious water. The historic center of Nardò boasts a rich cultural and artistic heritage that is well worth a visit. It is one of the finest Baroque cities in Lecce, with a large number of churches, palaces, and monuments. I especially recommend the façade of the Church of San Domenico, the obelisk-spire of the Immaculate Conception, the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, and the castle, an ancient Aragonese fortress."

Fernando Patacona