4. Rockefeller Fountain

In 1870, Sebastiano Mondolfo offered the City of Como 20,000 lira to purchase a monumental fountain from the Palazzo Litta at Lainate, to beautify the newly designed Piazza Cavour. The City rejected his offer to relocated the fountain. So instead, Mondolfo hired a local sculptor who designed a new three tiered fountain for the Piazza. Immediately, opposition to the fountain grew. People criticized everything from its design to its tax on the water pressure. It was dismantled and placed in salvage. In 1902, William Rockefeller purchased the fountain and within a year, it was installed it the Bronx Zoo, in a setting designed by Heins and La Farge. The fountain was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1968 (within three years of the Commission being created).