Route of the Urban Fountains (old town center)

The idea of this route is to introduce people to the most outstanding and historically significant fountains in Olesa’s urban core. The route begins at the Plaça de Fèlix Figueras i Aragay and leads to the Can Carreras stream (passing through the streets Carrer de Salvador Casas, Carrer de Josep Anselm Clavé and Carrer Clota). At the end of Carrer Clota, we come to the Oil Mill building.

Continuing northward, we reach the square where the Can Carreras farmhouse once used to stand, right at the intersection of the streets of Carrer de l’Església, Carrer d’En Sastre and Carrer de la Riera. Beside the farmhouse, there was a fountain and a washing area where locals used to go to wash their clothes. Eventually it was knocked down, and years later a square was built here with a fountain as a symbol of its past use.

Following the road uphill, we can observe that the route is marked by numerous curves and uneven ground resulting from water erosion. Along the street Carrer Santa Oliva, there is a little square with two fountains, one of them attached to a well, at the end of which there is an undeground aqueduct running for 475 meters toward the Plaça de Les Fonts. The water flowing from this point runs through the subsoil and passes under the houses on the streets of Carrer Santa Oliva, Carrer de la Creu Real, Carrer Ample and on the lane named Rampeu. Along the trajectory of the aqueduct (which cannot be visited), the water runs through 22 wells that connect with the drainage systems of some of the houses.

Returning to the route, at the end of Carrer Santa Oliva there is another fountain, beside the town gate, which is fed by the public water supply. A turn to the left takes us downhill along the streets of Creu Real and Ample. Half way between these two streets is the Plaça del Reverend Massana, where there is a faucet fountain.

A few yards on, we come to the Plaça de les Fonts (formerly the main square and nerve center of the town) After several redevelopments, the current fountain construction has a wall with five vertical jets, and in a corner of the square are seven more jets with depictions of seven angel faces and one of a devil.

At the beginning of the street Carrer de Salvador Casas, close to the Plaça de les Fonts, is the famous building Edifici dels Safaretjos (wash house), now municipal offices, where the old washing areas can still be seen.

Following the route along Carrer d’en Coscoll, right near the entrance to this street runs the underground aqueduct for the Roure fountain, which begins in the square. The aquifer in this area is very close to the surface. Continuing along the same street, between the streets of Carrer de Dalt and Carrer de Baix, there is another underground aqueduct, known as the Mina del Carrer d’en Coscoll, which can be accessed by a small door at one side of one of the houses. This aqueduct feeds the Roure fountain and the water crosses the streets of Baix, Dalt, Sant Joan and Forn. One of the ways to reach the Roure fountain is via Carrer de Baix to a stone stairway (or, alternatively, along the Can Limona arroyo). However, the water from the fountain is not drinkable.

Continuing along the path of the Can Llimona stream toward Carrer de Josep Anselm Clavé, on the left we will find a passage that leads to the Can Solé fountain. This was recently refurbished with the installation of the original basin, but without the wash house, which was pulled down together with the former Sauqué Tower in 1995. This fountain again bears an angel’s face, popular in the town. In this fountain are two types of jets from which the water spouts: one from the angel’s face, which is drinkable (coming from the Plaça de Les Fonts), and one from the bowl of the basin, which is not drinkable (the water comes from the old Can Solé fountain).

This is the last fountain on the route, which ends in the Plaça de Fèlix Figueras i Aragay.

From History to Heritage

The well in the little square of Santa Oliva is around 19 meters deep and has a strong water flow of approximately 100m³/hour.

The upper part of the Can Carreras stream (at the beginning of the street Carrer Santa Oliva) is also known as the Les Comes arroyo.

About the Plaça de Les Fonts a whole book could be written. Over the years it has been renovated several times, including the construction of various types of fountains. The Bassa de la Bareia is recorded as the original water pool in past centuries. Later, it was decided to build a sunken fountain with a central column bearing different engravings. The inconvenience of having to climb the steps with full water bottles and the hygienic conditions of the space led the municipal government to decide to raise the fountain with a monument by the Olesan sculptor Amadeu Paltor.

To one side of the Plaça del Reverend Massana is the beginning of the street Carrer Santa Paula Montal, where there is a convent (where the saint’s relics lie) and the L’escola de les Escolàpies school.

(Route created by Joan Soler Gironès)