Introduction
Every city has a statue that locals love a little too much. In Lucca, Italy, that statue crowns the Fontana della Naiade in Piazza del Salvatore — a neoclassical marble fountain the entire neighborhood calls La Pupporona, roughly 'The Busty One,' after the bare-breasted water nymph perched on top. She has scandalized a bishop, survived overnight vandalism, and for nearly two centuries has offered the freshest drinking water in the city from three stone spigots.
The fountain sits against the ochre facade of the Church of San Salvatore, pale marble against warm plaster, in a quieter corner of Lucca's walled center. This is not the piazza tourists find first. Piazza dell'Anfiteatro and San Michele get the crowds; Piazza del Salvatore belongs to the people who live here.
Come in the early morning and you will see them — residents with glass bottles and plastic jugs, filling up from the spigots with water piped from the surrounding hills through the same aqueduct Lorenzo Nottolini designed in the nineteenth century. Some locals insist one spigot tastes better than the others. They will not tell you which one.
What to See
The Naiade Herself
Comolli's naiad rewards a slow look. Start at her hair, sculpted in tight curls that catch shadow differently depending on the hour, then follow the draped fabric falling in folds thin enough that you half-expect them to move. One breast is bare — the source of two centuries of local pride and at least one bishop's sleepless nights.
The Three Spigots
Below the naiad, three water spigots jut from the rectangular column, each above its own small basin — and these are not decorative. Turn a spigot and cold hill water pours out, the same source Nottolini tapped nearly two hundred years ago. Locals arrive daily with bottles, treating the fountain as working infrastructure rather than ornament — one of the few places in a tourist city where a centuries-old public work still does exactly what it was designed to do.
Piazza del Salvatore's Quieter Life
The ochre-painted Church of San Salvatore rises directly behind the fountain, its warm facade turning the pale marble almost luminous in late afternoon light. Unlike Lucca's headline squares, this piazza has no ring of cafe tables, no souvenir stands, no amplified buskers — just residents on errands and the sound of running water. If you want to understand daily life inside Lucca's Renaissance walls — walls wide enough to drive a car across — stand here for ten minutes.
Photo Gallery
Explore Fontana Della Naiade in Pictures
The elegant Fontana Della Naiade stands in front of a classic yellow building in the historic city of Lucca, Italy.
LivornoDP · cc by-sa 3.0
A close-up view of the elegant marble sculpture at the Fontana Della Naiade, a historic landmark located in the heart of Lucca, Italy.
Francesco Bini · cc by-sa 4.0
A view of Fontana Della Naiade, Lucca, Italy.
Francesco Bini · cc by-sa 4.0
The elegant Fontana Della Naiade stands in front of a classic yellow building in the historic city of Lucca, Italy.
Francesco Bini · cc by-sa 4.0
A visitor fills a water bottle at the historic Fontana Della Naiade in the charming streets of Lucca, Italy.
Infrogmation · cc by-sa 4.0
The elegant Fontana Della Naiade stands in a sunlit square in Lucca, Italy, framed by historic yellow architecture and a stone church facade.
jimmyweee · cc by 2.0
The elegant Fontana Della Naiade stands in a charming square in Lucca, Italy, surrounded by historic yellow architecture and parked bicycles.
Palickap · cc by-sa 4.0
Visitor Logistics
Getting There
The fountain stands in Piazza del Salvatore, inside Lucca's walled historic center. Enter through any of the Renaissance wall gates — Porta San Pietro or Porta Santa Maria are closest — and walk about five minutes along Via Beccheria or Via Roma. No car access within the walls; park outside and walk or rent a bike, which is how most Lucchesi get around.
Opening Hours
As of 2026, the fountain is open-air and accessible around the clock, every day of the year. No tickets, no gates, no closing time. The three water spigots run continuously — fill your bottle at 3 a.m. if you like.
Time Needed
Five minutes to photograph the fountain and fill a water bottle. Fifteen if you linger over the neoclassical details — the lion-head reliefs on the bathtub-shaped basin, the fabric folds on the Naiade herself. Half an hour if you pair it with the adjacent Church of San Salvatore and soak up the quieter residential character of this quarter.
Cost
Completely free. The fountain is public art in a public square, and the water from its three spigots costs nothing. Lucca's walled center itself has no entry fee either — one of the few Italian historic cities where your wallet can rest.
Tips for Visitors
Shoot the Backdrop
Position yourself so the ochre facade of the Church of San Salvatore fills the frame behind the pale marble fountain. Late afternoon light turns that color contrast into something almost edible — warm gold against cool white.
Drink the Water
The three spigots draw from the Nottolini aqueduct, piping fresh water from the hills surrounding Lucca. Locals insist it tastes better than both tap and bottled — some even have a preferred spigot. Bring an empty bottle and join the ritual.
Come Early Morning
Before 9 a.m., you'll catch residents filling containers and chatting around the fountain the way they have since the 1800s. The piazza feels genuinely local at this hour — Piazza dell'Anfiteatro gets the tourist crowds, but La Pupporona belongs to the neighborhood.
Eat Off the Beaten Path
This quarter is quieter than the main tourist drag around San Michele. Walk two minutes south to Via Santa Croce for small bakeries selling buccellato, Lucca's anise-and-raisin bread ring, at budget prices. For a sit-down meal, the streets around Via Fillungo offer mid-range trattorias without the piazza markup.
Pair with the Walls
Lucca's Renaissance walls — four kilometers of tree-lined promenade wide enough for cyclists and joggers — are a ten-minute walk from the fountain. Do the fountain first, then climb up for the aerial view of the terracotta roofscape you were just walking through.
Where to Eat
Don't Leave Without Trying
Osteria da Pasquale
local favoriteOrder: The tordelli lucchesi (meat-filled local pasta) with ragù, and whatever they're running as a daily special—locals pack this place for a reason.
Over 1,000 reviews and a 4.9 rating tells you everything: this is where Lucchesi actually eat. Tucked in a quiet courtyard, unpretentious, and consistently excellent traditional cooking.
Caffè da Fede
cafeOrder: Morning espresso with a fresh pastry or buccellato (Lucca's iconic anise-and-raisin ring bread). Perfect for breakfast before exploring the walled city.
A genuine neighborhood café where locals grab their morning coffee—the kind of place that hasn't changed in decades and doesn't need to. Honest, authentic, and deeply Luccan.
Ristorante Calici Alti
local favoriteOrder: Ask what's fresh that day—the kitchen respects seasonal ingredients and executes with care. The wine list is thoughtful and well-curated.
Solid 4.8 rating from nearly 200 reviewers means this place delivers consistency without the tourist-trap vibe. Modern Italian done right, in the heart of the historic center.
Restaurant
local favoriteOrder: Perfect 5.0 rating suggests they do a few things exceptionally well—call ahead to ask about house specialties and daily offerings.
A small, highly-rated spot on a quiet street inside the walls. The minimal reviews suggest this is a local gem that doesn't rely on tourism—quality over volume.
Dining Tips
- check Book ahead at popular spots like Osteria da Pasquale—locals fill tables quickly, especially on weekends.
- check Lunch is typically 12:30–3:00 PM; dinner starts at 7:00 PM. Many restaurants close between lunch and dinner service.
- check Most restaurants inside the walls close on Tuesdays or Mondays—always call ahead.
- check Tipping is not obligatory but rounding up or leaving 5–10% is appreciated for good service.
- check Many traditional trattorias don't have extensive websites—call the number or check Google Maps for current hours.
- check Street food like cecina (chickpea flatbread) and pizza by the slice are best grabbed mid-morning or late afternoon from neighborhood spots.
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Historical Context
A Bishop, a Breast, and Two Centuries of Cold Water
In the early 1800s, Lucca's leading architect Lorenzo Nottolini undertook an ambitious project: a gravity-fed aqueduct to carry fresh water from the hills south of the city into its medieval center. The system required not just pipes and arches but endpoints — public fountains where citizens could actually collect the water. Most were plain, functional basins. One was not.
Nottolini commissioned sculptor Luigi Comolli to create a centerpiece for Piazza del Salvatore. The result was the Fontana della Naiade: a marble basin on claw feet, decorated with lion-head reliefs, topped by a columnar structure with three working spigots, and crowned by a naiad — a water nymph from Greco-Roman mythology. The choice was fitting, and as it turned out, controversial.
The Bishop Who Lost to a Water Nymph
Comolli's naiad was no modest allegory. She stood with softly draped fabric, carefully coiffed hair, curving hips — and one breast entirely exposed. This was standard neoclassical vocabulary, the kind of sculptural nudity that filled museums across Europe without comment, but Piazza del Salvatore sat in the shadow of a church.
According to local tradition, a bishop — his name now lost — took such offense at the exposed breast that he campaigned to have the statue removed entirely. The effort failed; the citizens of Lucca preferred their water nymph to their bishop's modesty. She stayed, and he is forgotten.
The nickname stuck harder than any ecclesiastical objection could. La Pupporona — from the Tuscan dialect word puppora, meaning breast — became the fountain's identity, and the piazza itself is still called Piazza della Pupporona in casual conversation. The name carries no embarrassment; if anything, locals say it with affection.
Nottolini's Aqueduct and the Gift of Hill Water
Lorenzo Nottolini's aqueduct reshaped daily life in Lucca. Before it, fresh water required wells or private cisterns; after it, public fountains brought clean hill water to ordinary citizens for free. The system still functions — Lucchesi insist the water tastes better than anything from a tap or a bottle, a claim difficult to argue with after your first sip on a July afternoon.
The Mustache Incident of 2017
In 2017, someone crept into Piazza del Salvatore overnight and drew a mustache on the Naiade's face. The perpetrator was never caught, but the damage was repaired quickly — and the outrage lingered far longer. La Pupporona is not just public art but a neighbor, and the incident confirmed what the bishop learned two centuries earlier: mess with her at your own risk.
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Frequently Asked
Is Fontana della Naiade in Lucca worth visiting? add
Yes, and it takes about five minutes of your time. The fountain is free, open around the clock, and sits in one of Lucca's quieter piazzas — less crowded than Piazza dell'Anfiteatro but more alive than most postcards suggest. The real payoff is watching locals fill water containers from the spigots, a ritual that's been going on since the Nottolini aqueduct first fed the city in the 19th century.
How long do you need at Fontana della Naiade? add
Ten to fifteen minutes to see it properly; longer if you sit and watch the square do its thing. It's not a place you tour — it's a place you pause at. Factor in time to fill a water bottle from one of the three working spigots if you want the full local experience.
Why is the Fontana della Naiade in Lucca called La Pupporona? add
Lucchesi named her 'La Pupporona' — 'The Busty One' — for the naiad figure's exposed breast atop the fountain. The nickname comes from the Tuscan dialect word puppora, and it stuck so thoroughly that the surrounding piazza is officially Piazza del Salvatore but universally called Piazza della Pupporona. The statue once scandalized a local bishop enough that he tried to have it removed. He failed.
Who designed the Fontana della Naiade in Lucca? add
The fountain was designed by Lorenzo Nottolini, Lucca's leading civil architect of the early-to-mid 19th century. The naiad figure on top was sculpted by Luigi Comolli (some sources give the surname as Camolli — the correct spelling remains unconfirmed). The fountain was one of several built across Lucca to distribute fresh water from Nottolini's hill aqueduct into the city center.
Can you drink the water from the Fontana della Naiade? add
Yes. The three spigots on the central column are functional and fed by the Nottolini aqueduct, which draws water from the hills surrounding Lucca. Locals fill containers here regularly and insist the hill water beats both tap and bottled. Bring an empty water bottle.
Where exactly is the Fontana della Naiade in Lucca? add
The fountain stands in Piazza del Salvatore — locally known as Piazza della Pupporona — inside Lucca's walled historic center. It's an easy walk from any of the city's gates; the surrounding streets are quieter and less trafficked by tourists than the main squares.
Is there an entry fee for the Fontana della Naiade in Lucca? add
No. The fountain is in an open public piazza, free to visit at any hour. You can fill your water bottle from the spigots at no charge — the water comes straight from a 19th-century hill aqueduct.
Sources
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verified
Two Parts Italy
Primary source for history, nickname, the bishop incident, the 2017 vandalism, and local water-filling customs
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verified
Wikimedia Commons
Visual record and file metadata noting 'Neoclassical fountain by Luigi Comolli' — source of sculptor surname discrepancy
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verified
Wikidata Q66317694
Structured data entry for the fountain confirming location in Piazza del Salvatore, Lucca
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