The Lion Fountain, also known as the Vilhena Fountain, is a Baroque fountain located in St Anne Square in Floriana, Malta. It was installed in 1728 by Grand Master António Manoel de Vilhena, and it was relocated a few metres from its original location in the 1950s.
The Lion Fountain in 2013
Vilhena's coat of arms
Latin inscription on the fountain
António Manoel de Vilhena
António Manoel de Vilhena was a Portuguese nobleman who was the 66th Prince and Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 19 June 1722 to his death in 1736. Unlike a number of the other Grand Masters, he was benevolent and popular with the Maltese people. Vilhena is mostly remembered for the founding of Floriana, the construction of Fort Manoel and the Manoel Theatre, and the renovation of the city of Mdina.
Painting of Grand Master de Vilhena
Fort Manoel, which was financed by and named after de Vilhena
Lion Fountain in Floriana, which was built in 1728 during Vilhena's magistracy
Vilhena is buried at the Chapel of the Langue of Castile, Leon and Portugal in St. John's Co-Cathedral