Fontana della Piazza Cima
In the middle of Piazza Cima, Neptune stands with his trident pointed east, hauled by two seahorses frozen mid-surge from a wide shell basin. The fountain has been here, in one form or another, since 1337 — and it is the one thing in this corner of Conegliano that came through the bombings of 1917 and 1918 without a scratch.
The square tilts gently downhill, following the lower slope of Colle di Giano, and the Teatro Accademia and the eighteenth-century Town Hall frame it on either side. It is the kind of place where the geometry of a small Italian city quietly reveals itself.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who return to Conegliano tend to time a stop here around the Dama Vivente, when the square fills with a living chess game in Renaissance costume and the fountain becomes the still point of a lot of choreographed movement. At any other time, the piazza is calm enough that you can actually look at Neptune properly — the statue came from Villa Foscolo in Oderzo before it found this spot.
The story behind Fontana della Piazza Cima
The basin dates to 1337, when a Veronese named Filippo Spongadi built it in what was then the piazzetta XVIII July. Neptune arrived later — in 1770, a statue recovered from Villa Foscolo in Oderzo replaced a small obelisk that had stood in the basin until then.
In 1838, the fountain was at the centre of a civic moment: it was inaugurated in connection with the passage through Conegliano of Ferdinand I of Austria. The Teatro Accademia, designed by Andrea Scala, went up beside the square between 1859 and 1869, giving the piazza the neoclassical anchor it still has today. Pietro Germi used it as a filming location in 1966 for his film Ladies & Gentlemen.
Good to know
The fountain is in a public square with no entry fee and no set hours. Conegliano FS train station is the closest rail stop; buses 132, 134, 135 and several other lines serve the town. June through August is the most comfortable window for standing around outdoors.
Summer days in Conegliano are warm and can be humid, with temperatures reaching into the low 80s Fahrenheit through July and August — fine for lingering in the square if you have shade nearby. November is the wettest month by some margin, so if you are coming in autumn, pack accordingly.
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What travellers say about Fontana della Piazza Cima
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The Fountain of Neptune, or "of the Horses" (actually seahorses), also taken as a symbol of the city of Conegliano, was actually proudly displayed in the park of Palazzo Foscolo in Oderzo, which was later sold. The lower part is older, built on the site of an ancient fountain.
Conegliano is truly beautiful from an architectural point of view, accessible everywhere with dogs, all public utilities work properly
In Conegliano, everyone calls it the Fountain of the Horses, a landmark and symbol of the city. The sculpture and the basin have different origins and artists. A meeting point is the small adjacent garden with a few comfortable benches. The fountain and the entire street in the old town are easily accessible from the train station.
Beautiful, toss a coin and make a wish!
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