Crocetta fountain or Santa Rosa fountain in Viterbo is also known as the Fountain of Santa Maria in Poggio due to the name of the church that closes one side of the square.
This was the church where the body of Santa Rosa was originally buried and the magnificent Feast of Santa Rosa, with the imposing Machine of Santa Rosa which is now a UNESCO heritage site, began precisely with the transfer of the body of the saint to the current sanctuary.
Like many other fountains in Viterbo, this one also dates back to the medieval arrangements of the thirteenth century when a system of drinking water distribution was created through a series of fountains in the main squares of the city.
The fountain is located on a mezzanine floor with two steps and has a circular basin and a central spindle from which the water spouts from some images come out. In fact, the spindle is decorated with lion heads but also with a woman's and a man's head. You can also recognize a bas-relief with the image of a running dog.
On one of the sides of the pool there is a story of Santa Rosa that took place in this very place. In fact, the fountain was the backdrop to one of the miracles of Santa Rosa who lived nearby and every day went to get water in this square. One day a little girl broke the jug with which she had to bring the water home and blamed Santa Rosa. The saint very calmly took the broken pieces and put them back together forming the jug again.
The fountain is also called della Crocetta from the name of the square which in turn was renamed in 1600 in homage to the religious Order of the Crociferi who administered the church of Santa Maria del Poggio and who dressed in a cassock with a large red cross.
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