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Origin and history

The fountain of the Cabraia, located in the Cabraia square in Sospel, has its origin in the modernization of the Real Strada (Royal Road) launched in 1780 by the king of Sardinia Victor-Amédée III. This road, made rotable in 1784, required the displacement of an ancient fountain, called del Sause, located near the Old Bridge gate. Despite local opposition, the decision to rebuild the fountain at its current location was taken in 1787, entrusted to the master Pietro Armiroto for 763 lire.

The fountain was inaugurated on October 20, 1788, after tensions between the inhabitants of the two banks of the Béréra, those of Saint-Nicolas obtaining in compensation the fountain Souta Loggia. Reusing elements of an older fountain (cited in 1741), it still underwent work between 1825 and 1827, as well as a slight displacement. Its inscription to historical monuments in 1939 consecrated its heritage importance, linked to the urban and hydraulic history of Sospel.

The archives reveal that the fountain del Sause could come from Saussera Square, on the left bank, before its transfer. Its displacement, motivated by the imperatives of the Royal Road, illustrates the conflicts of use between infrastructure modernization and preservation of local resources. The municipal deliberations of the time (1783–87) and the financial registers (such as the 250 lire allocated in 1786) document these issues.

Today, the fountain of the Cabraia remains an architectural testimony of the Alpes-Maritimes of the eighteenth century, mixing medieval heritage (absence in the Theatrum Saubadiae of 1680) and late Baroque innovations. Its water, symbolically restored in 1788, recalls the central role of fountains in Provencal community life, between supply and place of sociability.

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