World Art Utopia

Water Boat Fountain

A sailboat-shaped fountain in Valencia with curtains of water forming its sail and hull.
Artwork FileValencia, Spain

Water Boat Fountain

SeenJan 2020

Servicio del Ciclo Integral del Agua, Ajuntament de València (design) · 1999 (reported) · Valencia, Spain

Photo: Juan Andres Martinez / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

On Valencia's seafront promenade, jets of water from a simple metal frame form the hull and sails of a boat. The fountain dates from 1999 and was put back into working order in 2018 after five years out of service. Source Source Source Reported

Latest dated evidence checked: a local history blog post from January 2020 with the author's photos (publication date). Atlas Insolitus still listed the fountain in a page updated 28 Feb 2025, but that is not a dated sighting. Source Source Reported

💡 4 things to know

  1. Made by the city's water serviceA local history blog says the city's Servicio del Ciclo Integral del Agua designed the fountain and that it opened in 1999. Source Reported
  2. Back after five yearsStorms and heavy rain flooded its pump pit and it stood dry for five years. Levante-EMV reported its return to service on 18 July 2018 after repairs by the city. Source Source Checked
  3. Several namesIts official name is reported as the Fountain to Seafaring (Fuente a la actividad marinera). Online it also goes by Fuente del Barco de Agua, and Wikimedia Commons files it as Font de la Nau de l'Aigua. Source Source Source Checked
  4. A compass tooTwo sources describe the fountain as also representing a wind rose, or nautical compass. Source Source Reported

📍 Where it is

Passeig Marítim, between Platja de les Arenes (Cabanyal) and Platja de la Malva-rosa (C/ de Pavia 89 area) Source Checked

Open in Maps

Map search; no clearly framed Street View image was verified.

🗓️ Sightings

  1. 200830 Sep

    Photo by Juan Andres Martinez showing the fountain running. Camera date.

  2. 201322 May

    Laughing Squid feature on the 'Fuente del Barco de Agua'.

  3. 201818 Jul

    Levante-EMV reports the fountain working again after five years out of service.

  4. 20209 Jan

    Local history blog post with the author's photos (publication date).

Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports; red stamps mark removal. Publication dates are not camera dates.

✅ The facts

Maker
Servicio del Ciclo Integral del Agua (city water service), design Source Reported
Official name
Fuente a la actividad marinera Source Reported
Other names
Fuente del Barco de Agua; Font de la Nau de l'Aigua Source Source Checked
Year
Inaugurated 1999 Source Reported
Restored
2018, by the Ajuntament de València, after five years out of service; back in service by 18 July 2018 Source Source Checked
Address
Passeig Marítim, Valencia (Atlas Insolitus gives C/ de Pavia 89) Source Source Checked

In the press

Valencia. Un paseo por la historia · 2020-01-09 · La fuente del Barco de Agua, Valencia
“inaugurada en 1999”
inaugurated in 1999 Source Reported

Laughing Squid · 2013-05-22 · Fountain in Spain Uses Water to Mimic Form of Traditional Sailboat
“There's no information on the artist behind the design, but My Modern Metropolis reports that similar sculptures exist in Israel and Portugal.” Source Checked

Atlas Insolitus · 2024-03-02 · Fuente del Barco
“simboliza la brújula náutica”
symbolizes the nautical compass Source Reported

🔗 Related

All sources & image credits

Photo: Juan Andres Martinez / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Last checked: 26 October 2026 · How we verify art