Fountain of Youth/Naked Girl, Porto

On a bright sunny day, en route to the City Hall, one can't help noticing gleaming against the deep azure of the sky, an eye-catching figure of a young, naked female sitting on top of a very tall, lovely stone base. The attraction is called Fonte da Juventude Menina Nua (The Fountain of Youth or Naked Girl) and was created by the Portuguese sculptor, Henrique Moreira. Other than the girl itself, the fountain sculpture features four bronze male heads, the girl's feet resting upon one of them, from which the water is spouting and pouring down to the bottom of the base.

The fountain was completed in 1929 and was a bit controversial at the time, since Portugal was under the Salazar dictatorship, when censorship was rife and the church was very powerful. Still, the social standing of the sculptor enabled the statue to be erected in Avenida dos Aliados where it remains to this day.

A local girl, called Aurélia Magalhães Monteiro, then aged 19, was the model. She was also known as Lela, Lelinha, or "Ceguinha do 9" – a reference to Block 9, in the Pasteleira district, where she lived. Died in 1992, at age 82, Lela is still very much alive in this and many other statues that she posed for.

An interesting structure, well worth a stop!