EEvery 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.
01 What to See
The Naiade Herself
The Three Spigots
Piazza del Salvatore's Quieter Life
02 Explore Fontana Della Naiade in pictures.
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03 Visitor logistics.
The practical scaffolding for a good visit — kept short.
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.
05 Tips for visitors.
Small things that change the day.
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
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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04 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.
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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06 Frequently asked.
Is Fontana della Naiade in Lucca worth visiting?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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?
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.
Researched and written by the Audiala editorial team from historical records, architectural archives, and local expertise.
Primary source for history, nickname, the bishop incident, the 2017 vandalism, and local water-filling customs
Visual record and file metadata noting 'Neoclassical fountain by Luigi Comolli' — source of sculptor surname discrepancy
Structured data entry for the fountain confirming location in Piazza del Salvatore, Lucca
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