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The Fountain of India or the Noble Havana and its history.
The Fountain of India or La Noble Habana was inaugurated in the capital of the island on February 15, 1837 and its construction and placement was made possible thanks to the initiative of the Count of Villanueva.
This majestic piece was commissioned to the Italians Gerolamo Rossi and Antonio Boggiano, who entrusted the artistic work to the renowned Italian sculptor Giuseppe Gaggini.
The sculpture represents India Habana, wife of the Habaguanex chief, which is believed to be named after the capital of Cuba and in whose honor the city was named.
The work had several locations within Havana’s geography until in 1928, when the Fraternity Park was inaugurated, it was located at the end of the Paseo del Prado a few steps from Monte Street and the National Capitol of Cuba. Its orientation was also changed, as it now looks north.
Description of the Fountain of India or the Noble Havana.
The Fountain of India or the Noble Havana is made of white Carrara Italian marble. It stands on a rectangular pedestal, adorned with laurels and garlands, supported by four huge dolphins located in each of its corners and whose tongues are suppliers that pour water on the huge shells that make up its base.
The beautiful young Indian woman sits on a rock with her eyes lost to the horizon. On the head she wears a crown of feathers. Attached to the left shoulder and over it, carries the quiver full of arrows.
With the right hand she holds the upper end of an oval shield in which a key and three towers are symbolized. In her left hand carries the cornucopia of Amaltea and European fruits were replaced by Cuban ones, which are crowned with a pineapple.
The Fountain of India or the Noble Havana and its constructive structure.
This neoclassical fountain has a large glass or pylon, whose shape represents an ellipse of about 9 meters on the outside. In the center of the composition, a thick rectangular marble basement is erected, which is about 3.50 meters long and 2.50 meters wide and 2.50 meters high.
In its main axis it has a height of 76 cm and the drill is formed by 14 marble blocks 85 cm wide by 20 cm thick. On the inside, the Fountain of India or the Noble Havana is smooth, while on the outside and at its base it has moldings. Outside the pylon and wrapping the pools is a bench or marble marble, whose elliptical floor frames the monument.
