A spoonful of tax gave Chafariz da Colher its name. Here, traders bringing bread, flour, walnuts and other goods by river to the market beside Miragaia’s shipyards paid a levy: one colher, or spoon measure, for each alqueire. Goods arriving overland faced the bishop’s charge at the Sé gate instead.
This fountain collected the river trade’s payment, turning an everyday word for spoon into a lasting place-name. Stay on the pavement and take in the odd setting: this fountain sits below Rua Nova da Alfândega. When that street opened around 1871 to improve access to Porto’s new customs house, the roadway left the fountain down in a tucked-away corner, nearly hidden among the buildings.
The granite face has an iron spout, and three steps connect its level with Rua de Miragaia. Under the veranda, an inscribed stone bears the date 1629 and a Catholic dedication. Yet a Porto archive document from 1491 already records a levy imposed on Miragaia households connected with it, so the fountain probably predates that date.
Its water was valued for its quality, and the city asserted municipal ownership in a granite inscription. Restoration work followed in 1940. Today it is protected as a property of public interest.
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