Wallace Fountain on La Rambla dels Caputxins

In 1872 Richard Wallace, an English philanthropist, commissioned the sculptor Charles-Auguste Lebourg to design a fountain to give to the city of Paris, which was going through a difficult time due to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The fountain was meant to symbolize peace among peoples.

The fountains, named after their generous sponsor, featured different models but the most well-known is a 2.71-meter tall cast iron model weighing 610 kilograms. Inspired by the Parisian Fountain of the Innocents, it has an octagonal base on which four caryatids support a dome adorned with four dolphins. The four caryatids represent goodness, simplicity, charity, and sobriety. Water fell from the center of the dome into the space between the four caryatids. To facilitate water consumption, metal containers were attached to the fountain by a chain, but years later, and for hygienic reasons, these metal containers were removed.

In Barcelona, and on the occasion of the 1888 Universal Exposition, 12 fountains arrived which were placed in different locations in the city. Of these original fountains, only two remain: one is at Rambla Santa Mònica and the other is at Gran Via (very close to Passeig de Gràcia).

On Rambla dels Caputxins, at the height of the Orient Hotel, there is a Wallace fountain which, like others distributed throughout the city, is a new creation based on the original molds.

This one in particular was made when an accident ended the original fountain.