Seville No. 3 / Hispalis / Sevilla

The large octagonal shaped stone vessel now serving as water fountain in the centre of the Patio de los Naranjos [orange-tree courtyard] on the north side of the cathedral building of Seville is localy attributed to have been originally either 1)a Visigothic baptismal font [a far-fetched and unlikely possibility], or 2)a bath from the Roman termae [probably just as inaccurate]. One of such claims to Visigothic ancestry in Jesús Luengo Mena [http://colonia-julia-romula-hispalis.blogspot.com/2006/09/pila-bautismal-del-patio-de-los.html] [accessed 19 March 2010]. The sides of the underbowl are decorated with large foliage motifs which would not have been carved there if the vessel had been meant to be used as a sunken pool for a Roman termae, nor are they likely to have appeared ina Visigothic font. [cf. Index entry for Sevilla No. 2 for the elegant 16th-century baptismal font in this cathedral]