2 – THE MERMAID FOUNTAIN (ENG)

Located near the Bridge of Tears, the Mermaid Fountain likely dates back to the 16th century, when Alberico I Cybo Malaspina commissioned it. While its aesthetic value is modest and somewhat worn, the fountain carries significant traditional importance. Its legend is so captivating that even the poet Dante mentions it in Inferno/Hell, Canto XX of the Divine Comedy.

The tale tells of a mermaid who, ascending the Carrione River, was enchanted by the landscape and fell in love with Aronte, a charming young man. They married, but while time aged Aronte, the mermaid remained ever young and beautiful. Eventually, the mermaid’s mother sent a fish as a messenger to urge her to return home. The mermaid obeyed, leaving the elderly Aronte asleep, and began her journey back down the Carrione with the fish. However, Jupiter saw her fleeing and, as punishment for her abandonment, turned both her and the fish into marble. Since then, the statue has remained there, frozen in cold stone.

When the people of Carrara later built a bridge along the Carrione River, they named it the Bridge of Tears to commemorate the sorrowful tale of Aronte and the mermaid.