Onofrio's large fountain
In 1436 the Dubrovnik Republic concluded a contract with the Neapolitan architects Onofrio della Cava and Andriuzzi de Bulbito about the construction of water supply system in the city. The first part of that project was already completed in 1437, and Onofrio continued working on it until he left Dubrovnik in 1443. Water was brought to Dubrovnik from a well 12 km away in Šumet. In the very city was available at several smaller and two larger fountains.
The largest among them is, of course, Onofrio's Large Fountain, sculpted and decorated after Onofrio's project by Petar Martinov from Milan and the local artisans. It also served as the city's water container where water flowed in from one of the two water branches. By its shape it resembles to the Romanesque baptismal font which was situated behind the cathedral at Bunićeva poljana (it was demolished by the Austrian army forces in the middle of the 19th century). But, what is left today is more than a mere architectural volume.
The fountain was heavily struck in the 1667 earthquake when almost all decoration was damaged except 16 stone-carved water openings called maskerons for pouring out fresh water from Šumet.