-Sorry, I haven't found anything about the font, but if you want I can tell you a little about the life of Sant Lluís Bertran in Albaida and also that a month before the end of the previous millennium (December 1999), the Councilor for Market, Consumption, Tourism and Environment Josep Vicent Blanquer and Sanchis "Canet" (.DEP), asked me to make a small report on "the sources of Albaida". A posteriori, 2004, edited by Albaida City Council and carried out by Terra de Valencia, Coop. V., the book "El patrimonio architectonico de la ciutat d'Albaida" was published where you can expand the information on fountains, public washrooms and the rest of Albaida's architectural heritage: religious, civil, industrial and rural).
In the photograph (thanks Vincent SS) of the Sant Lluís fountain we can see that it has been restored to coincide with the third centenary of the saint's beatification (beatified in 1608). In the other barrel of the fountain it is requested that they respect "pedir la vez" or what is the same, "keep the turn when pouring".
They say and tell those who know about the subject, for example, Elias Tormo and Monzó in "Saints in Dawn and Blessed and Venerable” (1950) that Sant Lluís de Bertran was a Dominican preacher and superior, appointed vicar (1557) and not prior for having less than twelve friars in the convent of Santa Anna d'Albaida (he was there for the 3 years that the plague lasted) and missionary (patron of "Nueva Granada", now Colombia). Miracles are attributed to Albaida, as when "someone referred to" (it is not clear which nobleman shot, the people call him the Count of Albaida) enraged by his sermons (death to the vicious), shot him with a blunderbuss and the friar turned the weapon into a crucifix. And another miracle was extinguishing the fire of some vines near the convent with the sign of the cross. Also, they say and tell that on a very cold day, he left the church of Albaida (currently Sant Miquel's hermitage) with a shiny face, the effect of the fire of his soul.
They say and tell those who know, such as, for example, Teresa Ferrer Valls in her book "Theater and stage practices II: comedy” (1986) in his chapter III talks about “municipal production, fiestas and 'comedy of saints': the canonization of San Luis Bertrán in Valencia (1608)” which in the last years of the 16th and early 17th centuries began to to proliferate the public festivities financed by the councils of the big cities with the collaboration of individuals (nobles), the people of the Offices and religious orders dedicated to celebrating the beatification or canonization of religious closely linked to the city that celebrated them. It is what is known as the genre of divine comedies or comedies of saints. This type of public festivities flourished throughout the Peninsula.
When making the report for "Canet" I doubted the double meaning of the word SOURCE. The VALENCIA-CATALAN-BALEAR dictionary by Mossèn Alcover tells us:
1.-stream of water that springs from the earth;
2.-construction of stone, iron or other solid material, with a channel, tap or other means of conduction through which water is channeled.
Following the two definitions, we can talk about NATURAL SOURCES and HUMAN SOURCES. Remember that this "little report" is by no means exhaustive, and therefore, there may be some occasional omission or error.
natural sources.- Hydrography is the science that deals with the description of seas and water currents and is part of geography. Based on it, we see that the southern part of the term of Albaida is a very abundant area rich in springs and ravines. The water is used to irrigate the vegetable gardens. We must say that the irrigation system of Albaida is of Arab origin and that the tusks are diverse and all usable.
The Albaida river originates in the area called Fontanars (Serra d'Atzeneta) in Benicadell. The first muddy kilometer runs from east to west and when it passes the port of Albaida (road) it breaks from south to north, a direction that doesn't leave until Xúquer. It has a 7 kilometer route to the town. If we follow its course, it receives ravines such as: la Covalta, el Pollenc, les Tosquetes (it forms a waterfall with a drop of more than 20 meters). Near there, we have the source of the Amerador of private property. At the height of the house of the Key there are some faults (land breaks) and the source of the Clau de la Trompa that when it rains a lot it gushes out in the form of a siphon with heights that even reach more than 2 meters.
Downriver and about 700 meters we stumble upon one of the largest tusks in the region. It is located to the right of the river and is called la source of the Port. This tusk has been confused by several historians and botanists (Madoz, Cavanilles) with the name Font del Riu (now called Font del Vall). The reason for this controversy appears when the town of Albaida did not have any type of public source. We continue down the river bed and about 500 meters further down, we come across another tusk: it is the source of Beniati. In this place, the archaeologist Isidre Ballester excavated the Camí Reial cave (used as an irrigation ditch).
After crossing the stone bridge of the old Albaida-Cocentaina royal road, we arrive at Salt de la Pedrera, about 25 meters above sea level and where water that was underground until now emerges at its bottom.
From now on and following the course of the river we encounter: – a dam or reservoir: la Puntarró source (we also have the source of the Pajets ) that thickens the Faneca(d)es ditch; – at the height of the center of the town, there is the source of the Valley (formerly called source of the River); – before the Agullent gully and the Benissoda gully merge with the Albaida river, there are a couple of weirs that form the Vega ditch. We have to say that from here, the river bed always carries water. Further down, it receives the waters of the Pregó ravine (les Arborades ditch) and the Junda ravine, which forms the dividing line between the areas of Albaida and Bufali.
We thought it would be interesting to make a list of the rec most important in the area of Albaida and are the following: source of the Port (irrigation of orchards of Atzeneta, Palomar, Albaida), rec de la Vega, rec de la Sitja, rec del Pla (del Comte) and Aljorf, recs of the hortes del Poble, les Faneca(d)es watershed, Betilla watershed (birth of the Beneita source ), rec of the Beniati. There are other smaller streams, which can be found in the La Punta section, the Laberint spring, the Casa Pansat spring, the Asseit section, the Pouet, the Aguilar pass, the Mariner spring, the Solana , the Fontanelles, the source of the Station.
Public sources (town).-
The various historiographic sources consulted all tell us about the existence of public fountains, in the town, to be able to drink. Thus we have that:
1.Josep Cavanilles in his "Observaciones sobre la historia natural, geografia, agricultura, población y frutos del Reino de Valencia" from 1797 says that it is a town with straight, long and spacious streets with a healthy and rooted atmosphere "...where fruits abound and there are many springs..."
2. Madoz “Diccionario Geográfico-Estadístico-Histórico de Alicante, Castellón y Valencia”, in its first volume from 1850, talks about sources, without naming them, and tells us "... the terrain is uneven, but very fertile because of the many springs that flow from it...";
3. José Pastor i Torregrossa, in his book "Brief descripción histórica, religiosa y topográfica de la villa de Albaida" from 1880 states that the town has 5 sources;
4. Albaida's official chronicler, V. Gil-Mascarell, in 1956 compiles a series of information for the "Diccionario Geográfico de España" and tells us "...magnificent sources that turn it into a true verdant...". We also I know that there are 5 public fountains in the town and that they all bring water from the Argamassa spring: 3 fountains are from a cannon; 1 of 12 guns and 1 of 13 guns. In addition, it tells us that the source of the Villa has 7 cannons.
1.-Font de la Villa, it is already mentioned in documents in the 14th century. The chronicler calls it "Orcala" (7 cannons),
2.-Font de l'Argamassa, cited from the first preserved written documents. This is how it was mentioned in 1603 when one of the area's crosses was placed next to it (prior to the construction of the Sant Antoni neighborhood, 18th century, and the current one and known as the Font del Barri)
3.-Plaça Major Fountain, in 1673, this fountain (a cannon) and the one in the Palau's vegetable garden were built with water (Argamassa fountain) donated by the Marquis of Albaida, Ximen Peres Milà and Aragon; but the Municipal Council (current city council) paying for the driving. The fountain in the square was initially located in the center of the square and in 1777 the fountain was moved to the place where it is currently located
4.-Font de la Barrera, it was built in 1724 (a cannon). In 1761, the 5th and last Marquess of Albaida without direct succession, Francesc de Paula Milà i Aragó, donated 100 pesos for the fountain,
5.-Fountain of Sant Antoni d'Abat, it has 12 cannons and was built in 1789 with the financial help of the bishop of Oriola En José Tormo Julià (neighbor of Albaida),
6.-Font Our Lady of the Remedy, also known as the source of the Lion, it has 13 cannons and was built in 1884 on the grounds of the old capuchin garden and bordered the new neighborhood of Sant Antoni (founded in 1770),
7.-Font del Cardavall or de Baix, it is located in the current Carrer del Beat Nicolau Factor and dates from 1839. Its water is from the Argamassa
8-9.-Fonts of the Aljorf (2): 1.- "del Grapat", located at the entrance to the neighborhood (old town) and below the bridge where the Alcoi-Valencia train passes; 2.- "Aljorf", at the end of the village, on the descent to the river, source of 4 "xorros". It must be an Islamic source.
