The most iconic public fountains from around the world

The memorial dedicated to the Australian army dead in the battle of El Alamein consists of three water tanks at different levels and a fountain resembling a dandelion, perhaps suggesting the fragility of human life.

Originally designed for the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, the construction composed of monolithic cubes from which water escapes is an effective optical illusion: the volumes actually anchored to a pillar appear to float in the air, as if ejected by an endogenous force from the pool of water below.

Located in the Igor Stravinsky Square near the Centre Georges Pompidou, the joyful fountain consisting of a 580 sqm basin and 16 colourful aluminium sculptures that move thanks to water jets is a pleasant attraction for adults and children alike.

The fountain with the highest jet in the world pumps water from the Red Sea and projects it into the air up to an altitude of more than 300 m, depending on the wind. Illuminated at night, it is visible from every point in the city and is an unmistakable landmark of the area. The only precedent of its kind in Europe, the Jet d'Eau at Geneva's Eaux-Vives wharf, dating from the late 19th century, with its jet reaching a height of 140 m is an international landmark of the city.

Located at the entrance to 'Swarovski Crystal Worlds', the well-known company's theme park, the fountain featuring a giant's head with beady, glowing eyes, from whose mouth water pours out, is an invitation to enter the glittering, magical world of crystals.

The fountain, integrated into the natural slope of Hyde Park and characterised by a ring of Cornish granite that stands out sharply against the lawn, was designed to evoke the values of inclusion and accessibility, and to radiate energy: many people come here to interact with the water, conveyed along grooves and animated by jets of air.

The Miroir d'eau in front of the Place de la Bourse, part of the urban redevelopment process along the banks of the Garonne, covers at regular intervals of about half an hour a 130-metre long and 42- metre deep granite slab pavement. The hydraulic mechanism involves slow flooding: the square is covered with a 2 cm slab of water on which the façades of the buildings facing the square are reflected; as the water, collected in an 800m3 reservoir, recedes, a series of 900 nozzles inserted in the pavement form clouds of mist that envelop the square.

The Miroir d'eau in front of the Place de la Bourse, part of the urban redevelopment process along the banks of the Garonne, covers at regular intervals of about half an hour a 130-metre long and 42- metre deep granite slab pavement. The hydraulic mechanism involves slow flooding: the square is covered with a 2 cm slab of water on which the façades of the buildings facing the square are reflected; as the water, collected in an 800m3 reservoir, recedes, a series of 900 nozzles inserted in the pavement form clouds of mist that envelop the square.

The Túnel de las Sorpresas, located in the historic Parque de la Reserva, is part of the Magical Water Circuit that includes a series of 13 illuminated fountains and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest water fountain complex in the world in a public park.

Two translucent glass-brick towers lit by LEDs and placed in a reflecting pool of black granite are crossed by a blade of water and project images of local people: an interactive artwork conceived as a strong element of recognition of the area and its community. 

The three monolithic fountains located in the medieval Republic Square recall in their shapes the figures of the city's coat of arms (the camel, the greyhound and the angel) and enrich the vast open space, introducing the element of water in memory of the ancient 'wasserkasten', large water basins for public use.

Located in the permanent museum park of contemporary art, called "The Spirit of the Place", in front of the Villa Medicea La Magia in Quarrata, the work is characterised by a hexagonal layout at the centre of which is a bench, also hexagonal, with a fountain; walls with smooth Carrara marble externally and grooved internally, which are reflected in mirrors of water, ideally define the boundaries of an intimate and contemplative space, from which one can see the extraordinary surrounding landscape.  

The work, originally designed for the local ceramics and porcelain festival, consists of 10,000 recycled toilets, washbasins and urinals covering a wall 100m long and 5m high, from which playful and irreverent jets of water gush out in unison.

The intervention has a strong symbolic value: on the one hand, it celebrates the concept of a public good - in this case, water - that is free and accessible; on the other hand, it is a place of interaction and exchange for the community; finally, it celebrates the value of life, generated by water and represented by the building's "skin", a cylindrical shell with arches that changes with the plants, fungi and small organisms that inhabit it. Ramps of stairs allow visitors to reach the roof of the structure and enjoy the urban panorama.

Located a few steps from Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the project involves, in addition to the new underground Apple Store, the redevelopment of the square above it with the insertion of a terraced amphitheatre paved in Lombard stone and a fountain marking the scenographic entrance to the store: a parallelepiped glass volume containing the staircase and on whose walls the jets of water break, with variable reflections depending on the light.