The Fountain of the Months is the only still existent architectural element of the wide array of buildings built for the Italian General Exhibition of 1898 , held in Turin to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Albertine Statute.
According to a vocation that was consolidating after the Exposition of 1884, the site chosen to host the event was the Valentino Park and the prestigious task of designing the pavilions was entrusted to Carlo Ceppi ( 1829-1921 ). Architect of great importance in the cultural environment of Turin, Ceppi designed also the imposing building of the project of Porta Nuova station (developed with Alessandro Mazzucchetti ) and several mansions of the centre.
While other Exposition buildings were built of wood, plaster and burlap, the Fontana dei Mesi had a permanent structure, built in the "modern" cement.
It is a large illuminated fountain decorated with four groups of statues representing rivers from Turin (Po, Dora, Sangone, Stura ) and female statues representing the twelve months of the year.
The critics consider it "a successful synthesis between academic eclecticism and openness to new styles and techniques."