A 19th-century stone fountain
The Chafariz do Cacém is a neoclassical stone fountain built in 1849 in Largo D. Maria II, Cacém, Sintra, on the orders of Queen Maria II to serve the main road between Lisbon and Sintra. Dismantled in the late 1950s and removed on 25 April 1974, it was rebuilt on its original site by the Parish Council of Agualva-Cacém in 1998.
A queen ordered a fountain built for royal travellers
Queen Maria II ordered the fountain built, during her reign over Portugal. The minister overseeing the project was Marshal Duke of Saldanha, and the inspector was Baron da Luz. Builders placed it in the square now called Largo D. Maria II, because they believed this spot was the main passage point for royal journeys between Lisbon and Sintra. Local tradition holds that the nearby Pátio Saladino, now a crumbling patio, once served as a royal stable where the king stopped often to change horses. The story goes that this need for fresh water right there is what led to the fountain's construction.
Builders gave it a neoclassical design. A square basin with curved corners sits below a central pillar in the Tuscan order, topped with a stone urn. Two iron spouts, painted black, stick out from the sides.
The fountain vanished the same day as a revolution
The fountain stood for a century before workers dismantled it in the late 1950s. Cacém's municipal archive records the exact date it came down: April 25, 1974, the same day as Portugal's Carnation Revolution, when the country's dictatorship fell. The fountain disappeared from the square just as the nation changed around it.
Neighbours put the old fountain back in its square
The Parish Council of Agualva-Cacém rebuilt the fountain and set it back in its original spot in 1998, restoring the square's old landmark.
Today the fountain still anchors Largo D. Maria II, a gathering point at a road junction, surrounded by asphalt and old limestone paving. Metal barriers now ring it to keep cars away. Cacém's oldest residents still gather nearby, by the fountain's small pool, outside the barber shop, and in the cafés and restaurants that line the square.
The restored fountain still stands in Largo D. Maria II, its stone basin and Tuscan pillar intact after being taken down in 1974 and rebuilt in 1998.
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