Situated along the main decumanus of Sorrento, the fountain of the Schizzariello is one of the city’s symbols. According to popular myth, the fountain was originally in the centre of Largo Dominova. After the war it was moved about a hundred metres further on near the church of L’Addolorata. In fact, the correct location of the fountain is still the subject of arguments amongst the Sorrentines, but what is likely is that the name of the fountain, the “Schizzariello” (weak gush of water), gave its name to the entire area in front of it called “Miezz’ ‘o Schizzariello” (in the middle of the Schizzariello”). Even today all the locals call the little square overlooking the Sedil Dominova and most of Via San Cesareo with this name.
The fountain, which has always been known to the locals for the harmonious intertwining of its two marble dolphins, has been restored in recent years. For the restoration, images painted by Theodore Duclere in 1861 were copied positioning some decorations and a coat of arms in its upper part; the former had already disappeared in photos from 1890 and the coat of arms from the 1960s, presumably stolen.
