Fountain of St. George and the Dragon
This Renaissance fountain in the courtyard of the Primatial Palace depicts the struggle of St George and the dragon. His life is part of the ‘Golden Legend’, which was extremely widespread in early Christian Europe.
According to this legend, George was an officer in the Roman army who came upon a town terrorised by a dragon. In desperation, the people chose victims for the dragon by tossing a coin. George intervened when the king’s daughter had lost the toss, and proceeded to kill the dragon with a spear. Whether George existed or not, he became a symbol of the battle against evil, and a symbol of the conquest of Christianity over heathens.
