During the siege of Chandax, the Turks cut off the supply pipe to the Fontana Morosini, leaving the city dry. It was then that Provveditor General Antonio Priuli discovered groundwater in the defensive ditch outside the Bethlehem Bastion, on the southern landward side of the enceinte. This he diverted to the Dermata Gate opposite, and in around 1666 constructed the fountain bearing his name, which still stands behind the Bodosakeion Primary School.
The fountain, which is a superb example of Renaissance architecture, is adorned with columns and pillars bearing Corinthian capitals crowned by a pediment. On either side of the columns there are niches, the faces of which are adorned with ornate decorations.
The fountain was also known as the "Fontana nouva", and from the Ottoman period onwards as the Delimarkos fountain.
The Fontana Priuli in its present condition, 2004 (photograph: Vassilis Kozonakis)
Detail of the Corinthian capitals adorning the fountain, 2004 (photograph: Multimedia Lab)
The inscription bearing the name of the benefactor who built the fountain, 2004 (photograph: Multimedia Lab)
Water once flowed from three spouts into marble basins below, 2004 (photograph: Multimedia Lab)
