The fontanone (large public fountain) of Piazza della Caserma — today known as Piazza Dalmazia — was one of the most distinctive and debated hydraulic monuments in nineteenth-century Trieste. Completed in 1851 to a design by engineer Giuseppe Sforzi (1801–1883), its construction was estimated to cost 6,438.5 florins.
Architecture
Architecturally, the structure had an octagonal plan and featured eclectic forms with a vaguely Oriental style. It was topped by a metallic pagoda-shaped roof, crowned with the typical Triestine alabarda — a detail, however, that had not been part of Sforzi's original design.
The Press and the Controversy
Its unusual appearance immediately drew the irony of the local press. On 2 October 1853, the newspaper Il Diavoletto published a sarcastic comment inviting a group of Chinese performers — who were appearing at the city's Sala del Mauroner at the time — to visit the fountain and see their reaction upon discovering, in Trieste, a "building from their celestial Empire".
Intellectuals such as Pietro Kandler also questioned its practical value, wondering whether building additional fountains only served to diminish the overall water flow by dividing the city's single water source.
Daily Life
Daily life around the fontanone was lively and often chaotic. The wait to draw water was long and frequently led to disputes among citizens. The square was constantly crowded with carts, and water was often used to wash barrels and water horses — much to the frustration of women who came to fill their buckets and basins.
The End
The fountain served the square for over seventy years. As the city's water network was modernised, it lost its original function and was definitively demolished in 1923. The square itself was renamed in 1925 — from Piazza della Caserma to Piazza Dalmazia — in reference to the Dalmatian region.