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{{Citation style|date=June 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Bairro das Fontainhas
| native_name = Fontainhas Quarter
| image_skyline = File:Panjimin.jpg
| image_alt =
| image_caption = Heritage houses in a lane, near the <br/>Chapel of St. Sebastian, Fontainhas, India
| settlement_type = Neighbourhood
| pushpin_map =
| mapsize = 150px
| subdivision_type = [[List of countries|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{flag|India}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[States of India|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Goa State|Goa]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of Goa|District]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[North Goa District|North Goa]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Talukas of Goa|Sub-Division]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Tiswadi|Ilhas de Goa]]
| founder = Antonio Joao de Sequeira
| named_for =
| government_type =
| government_footnotes =
| leader_title1 =
| leader_name1 =
| leader_title2 =
| leader_name2 =
| established_title = Established
| established_date = 1770
| area_total_km2 =
| area_footnotes =
| population_as_of = 2011
| population_total = approx 3,500
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym = -
| population_footnotes =
| demographics_type1 = Languages
| demographics1_title1 = Official
| demographics1_info1 = [[Konkani language|Konkani]]
| demographics1_title2 = Also Spoken (understood)
| demographics1_info2 = [[English language|English]]

<br/>[[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| demographics1_title3 = Historical
| demographics1_info3 = [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| demographics_type2 = Religions
| demographics2_title1 = Dominant
| demographics2_info1 = [[Roman Catholicism]]
| timezone = [[Indian Standard Time|IST]]
| utc_offset = +5:30
| coordinates = {{coord|15.496|N|73.831|E|region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_m = 8
| postal_code_type = Postcode
| postal_code = 403 517
| area_code_type = Telephone code
| area_code = 0832 2xx
| registration_plate = GA
| website = {{URL|goa.gov.in}}
| footnotes =
}}
'''Fontainhas''' (or '''Bairro das Fontainhas''', in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]) is an old Latin [[Quarter (country subdivision)|Quarter]] in [[Panjim]], capital city of the [[List of Indian state and union territory name etymologies|state]] of [[Goa]], India. It maintains its Portuguese influence, particularly through its [[architecture]], which includes narrow and picturesque winding streets like those found in many European cities, old [[villa]]s and buildings with projecting balconies painted in the traditional tones of pale yellow, green, or blue, and roofs made of red coloured tiles. Fontainhas' heritage ambience represents the traditional Portuguese influence in the area.<ref name=Goa>{{Cite web|url=http://www.goatourism.gov.in/destinations/other-attractions/180-fontainhas-a-sao-tome|title= Fontainhas & São Tomé|publisher=Department of Goa: Department of Tourism}}</ref><ref name=Quest>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/travel/the-quiet-goa-fontainhas/article4105686.ece|title=The quiet Goa: Fontainhas|first=Sravasti|last=Datta|date=5 March 2013|newspaper=The Hindu}}</ref>

==Location==
Fontainhas is the oldest Latin quarter of Panjim, and is similar to a Mediterranean city. Located at the foot of the [[Altinho]] Hills, it is bounded on the west by the hills with springs from which its name derives. (''Fontainhas'' is Portuguese for "little fountain".) On the east side, it is bounded by an ancient creek known as the Ourem Creek. It was built on reclaimed land.<ref name=Goa/><ref name=Quest/>{{Sfn|Dalrymple|2004|p=258}}

==History==
{{More citations needed|date=August 2023}}
In the late eighteenth century, a Goan expatriate named António João de Sequeira (nicknamed Mossmikar), who had made his wealth while working in [[Mozambique]], established Fontainhas.<ref name=Goa/> The name came from a spring at the foot of the hill which began to sprout around 1770. It is patterned along the lines of Lisbon's ''Bairro Alto.''

In 1844, a government administrator, who had restored a some order in Goa, directed that even the people of the lower strata of society should appear properly dressed in public. He built an elegant street with a parapet called the ''Rua Nova d’Ouremsea'' on the seaward side of the Fontainhas Bairro (Quarter). In the same area, he also created the Phenis fountain, with a façade and porch.{{Sfn|Burton|1879|p=472}}

The Fontainhas had a high population density. The rich lived on Panjim hill in large bungalows, while the less affluent lived at the foot and the east of the hill, hemmed in between the hill and the small tidal creek, which remains dry and emits a foul smell during the low flow season.{{Sfn|Survey|1881|p=21}}

[[William Dalrymple (historian)|William Dalrymple]] calls Fontainhas a "small chunk of Portugal washed up on the shores of the Indian Ocean".{{Sfn|Dalrymple|2004|p=258}} It is the only area in Goa where [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] is still the main spoken language.{{Sfn|O'Reilly|Habegger|2004|p=153}}

==Features==
{{Advert section|entire second paragraph|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Fontainhas - Wishing Well (56337569).jpg|right|thumb|A heritage house in Fontainhas with a wishing well]]
[[File:Fontainhas - somewhere in between.jpg|thumb|A typical house window in the ''bairro das fontainhas.'' Also seen in the picture is the street name displayed on an ''[[Azulejo]]'' (Portuguese ceramic tiling work).]]
The old houses built in the 18th and 19th centuries in the [[Portuguese colonial architecture|Portuguese architectural style]] remain in their original colourful elegance with roofs made of red tiles and houses painted in pale yellow, green or blue colours. The Fundacão Orienté, a Portuguese public organization involved in the task of restoration of heritage buildings in Goa is also located in this quarter of Panjim.<ref>[http://www.foriente.pt/?lang=en Fundacão Orienté]</ref> Fonte Phoenix, a well from a natural spring at one of the quarter's houses, has been refurbished.<ref name=Goa/>{{Sfn|McCulloch|Stott2013|p=52}} Many art galleries, which also house exotic cafes, are located here.<ref name=Quest/>

{{citation needed span|date=July 2020|An evening in the Fontainhas reveals unmarried women sitting on the roofed gallery steps, wearing colourful flowery dresses, scanning newspapers, and chatting with their neighbours in Portuguese. Violinists play musical works of [[Heitor Villa-Lobos]] from their windows and cages of birds hang from the ornate balconies overlooking the small red-tiled city square. Another nostalgic scene is of old people dressed in well-pressed linen pants and wearing [[Homburg (hat)|Homburg]] hats walking out of taverns and wobbling along the cobbled streets lined with rundown old [[Volkswagen Beetle]]s.}} ''La douceur méditerranéenne'' (a Mediterranean mildness) can be sighted in the lanes.{{Sfn|Dalrymple|2004|p=258}}{{tone inline|date=July 2017}}

While most aristocrats' mansions have been destroyed to make way for modern buildings, some old houses of erstwhile rich Indo-Portuguese people are still found here.{{Sfn|O'Reilly|Habegger|2004|p=153}} Windows and balconies of some of the houses face the back lanes of the Fontainhas.{{Sfn|Burton|1879|p=472}}

The houses and the lanes are kept very clean. During [[Portuguese India|Portuguese rule]], every urban resident was mandated by law to paint his house every year after the [[monsoons]]; this practice is still continued as a tradition.{{Sfn|Murphy|1989|p=19}}

A popular theme walk in the Fontainhas focuses on the architectural elegance of the atmospheric heritage area.{{Sfn|McCulloch|Stott2013|p=52}}

===Chapel of St Sebastian===
The [[Chapel of St Sebastian]], erected in 1818, is located at the southern end of the Fontainhas. It was traditionally the locale for the annual street festival of the Feast of Our Lady of Livrament. An old well exists in its precincts. The chapel is well preserved and has a very large [[crucifix]], which was once fixed at the [[Palace of the Inquisition]] in [[Old Goa]]; earlier, it was in the palace of [[Adil Shah]] but later moved to this chapel when the Viceroy moved out to Cabo. A striking feature of the crucifix is the image of Christ created over it with eyes open, as if to create fear among the people of the interrogations of the Inquisitors. The chapel also houses an image of the [[Virgin Mary]], two veneered wooden chests, and three intricately-carved altarpieces relocated from a church in [[Diu, India|Diu]].<ref name=Goa/>

==Art festival==
Every year, for one week, the historic houses in Fontainhas are turned into art galleries, with residents displaying their artworks an Goan heritage, unique architectural features of their balconies, and furnishings in their dining halls.{{Sfn|Publishing|2008|p=89}}

The Fontainhas festival is an art and culture festival held in the month of February in Goa. The Fontainhas festival is an attempt to create awareness about Goan heritage among younger generations and in turn aiming to preserve the distinct cultural scene prevalent in Goa. The Goan heritage of music, dance and art is closely connected to its Portuguese counterpart and is well displayed at this festival. Singers and dancers from across the world come here to perform on this occasion. Every day there are musical and dance events. The festival provides an opportunity for the artists to expand their network.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last= Burton|first=Lady Isabel |title=Arabia, Egypt, India: A Narrative of Travel|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924011702721|page= [https://archive.org/details/cu31924011702721/page/n511 472]|year=1879|publisher=W. Mullan and son}}
*{{cite book|last= Dalrymple |first=William |title=The Age of kali: Indian Travels & Encounters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcwDAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT258|date=22 January 2004|publisher=Penguin Books Limited|isbn=978-93-5118-342-6}}
*{{cite book|last1= McCulloch |first21=Victoria |last2= Stott |first2=David |title=Goa (with Mumbai) Footprint Focus Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hj_-AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA63|date=30 October 2013|publisher=Footprint Travel Guides|isbn=978-1-909268-42-5}}
*{{cite book|last= Murphy |first=Dervla |title=[[On a Shoestring to Coorg: A Travel Memoir of India]]|date=11 December 1989|publisher=Overlook|isbn=978-1-4683-0573-9}}
*{{cite book|last1= O'Reilly |first1=James |last2= Habegger |first2=Larry |title=Travelers' Tales India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOhfrLPezNYC&pg=PA153|date=1 January 2004|publisher=Travelers' Tales/Solas House, Incorporated|isbn=978-1-932361-01-8}}
*{{cite book|last= Publishing |first=Outlook |title=Outlook Traveller|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT89|date=December 2008|publisher=Outlook Publishing}}
*{{cite book|last= Survey |first=India. Marine |title=General Report of the Operations of the Marine Survey of India|url=https://archive.org/details/generalreporton00survgoog|page= [https://archive.org/details/generalreporton00survgoog/page/n30 21] |year=1881|publisher=Government Press}}

[[Category:Neighbourhoods in Panaji]]

Fontainhas (quarter) - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article