Fontana della vasca

The Roman pool, dated to the 2nd-3rd century AD, is made of red granite and has an elliptical plan, with a flared body and ample height. The centre of one of the long sides, at the bottom, is decorated with a lion's head in the mouth of which is a bronze tube for draining water. The shape and decoration of the artefact belong to a class of monuments found in ancient Roman baths, many of which were used in the Middle Ages to bury saints in Christian basilicas or were reused as fountains. It was found in a vineyard outside Porta S. Lorenzo and, after various locations, was moved here in the second half of the 19th century and placed inside the round basin created by Valadier.