542 
F O N 
a vi&ory over the duke of Mayenne, in the year 1595 : 
three leagues and a half eaft of Is-fur-Tille, and three 
and a half weft-north-weft Gray. 
FONTAI'NE-GUERIN, a town of France, in the de¬ 
partment of the Mayne and Loire, and chief place of a 
canton, in the diftridt of Bauge : one league and a half 
fouth-fouth-weft of Bauge, and four and three quarters 
eaft of Angers. 
FONTAI'NE-sous-JOUY, a town of France, in the 
department of the Eure, and chief place of a canton, in 
the diftrict of Evreux : two leagues norih-eaft of 
Evreux. 
FONTAI'NE-sur-SOMME, a town of France, in the 
department of the Somme : five miles S.E. Abbeville. 
FONTAINEBEL'LE, a fettlement of the American 
States, in the N. W. territory, fituated on the E. fide of 
the Mifiifippi, eighteen miles north of St. Phillips, and 
•twenty-three below Cahokia. 
FONTAINEBLEAU', a town of France, in the de¬ 
partment of the Seine and Marne, and chief place of a 
canton, in the diftridt of Melun ; celebrated for its mag¬ 
nificent palace, the general autumnal refidence of the 
kings of France, thus defcribed by cardinal Bontivoglio: 
“ Fontainebleau is a vaft palace, worthy of a great prince 
as the king of France, and though there are many piles, 
joined to each other at different times, without order or 
fymmetry, forming a confuted mafs of buildings of dif¬ 
ferent architecture ; this confufion lias neverthelels an air 
of furprifing majefty and grandeur. It hands in a bot¬ 
tom, and has nothing pleafant when the country and trees 
are deprived of their verdure, lurrounded by a vaft 
foreft, in the midft of fmall hills crowned with rocks, 
which produce nothing to fupport life, or pleafe the eye. 
As there is a great number of deer, the king conies to take 
the aiverfioti of the chace. The gardens are neat and 
very extenfive; and befides the grand fountain, which, 
from the excellency of the water gave name to the place, 
there is a great number of others to adorn this charming 
refidence.” The foreft of Fontainebleau was anciently 
called the Foreft of Bierre, and is faid to contain 26,480 
acres ; the figure is round, and the town and chateau are 
in the centre. The town of Fontainebleau confifts of one 
principal ftreet, of confiderable length, and feveral fmaller. 
The principal trade depended on the palace, and its fitua- 
tion in the high road from Paris to Lyons, with a raanu- 
iadture of thread lace ; the number of inhabitants about 
three thoufand : feven ports and a quarter fouth-fouth-eaft 
of Paris, and two north of Melun. 
FONTAI'NES (Peter-Francis Guyot des), a volumi¬ 
nous French writer and critic, born in 1685 at Rouen, 
where his fat her was a counfellor of parliament. He 
lived fome time with the cardinal d’Auvergne, as a wit 
and man of letters; and became known at Paris by fome 
critical pamphlets; and in 1724 the Abbe Bignon en- 
truffed to him the “ journal des Savans,” which lie foon 
jailed from the negledt into which it had fallen. Anac- 
»ufrtion of corrupting the morals of youth caufed him to 
be confined in the Bicetre, from which he was liberated 
through the influence of the friends of Voltaire, who was 
then on terms of intimacy with him ; though they after¬ 
wards became moll inveterate enemies. The abbe Des 
Fontaines chiefly made himfelf known by his periodical 
publications of the critical kind, which fitcceflively ap¬ 
peared under different titles, and kept him perpetually 
involved in literary contention. He little regarded the 
hoftilities which he provoked, while he attracted the 
public attention. “ I muft live,” he would fay; “ Al¬ 
giers would die of famine were it at peace with all its 
enemies.” Though Inch a fentiment gives no favourable 
idea of bis principles, yet he poflelfed a kind of philofo- 
phical independence of mind, which would not permit 
him to (loop to folicit favours or titles. He died at Paris 
in 1745. The long liff of his publications contains, be¬ 
sides his critical pieces, a number of iranflations of Eng- 
Jilh and other foreign works, and a prole tranflation of 
F O N 
Virgil, in 4 vols. 8vo. with diflertations, notes, &e. 
which.is well fpoken of. The abbe de la Porte publiffi- 
ed in 1757, “ L’Efprit de l’Abbe Des Fontaines,” 1114. 
vols. i2mo. 
FONTA'NA, a town of Swiflerland, in the canton of 
Uri : eighteen miles north of AltdorfF. 
FONTA'NA (Dominic), an eminent architeft, born in, 
1543, at Mili, a village on the lake of Como. Having 
received fome inftrudtions in geometry, he went in his 
twentieth year to Rome, where his elder brother John was 
a (Indent in architecture. He applied himfelf to the 
fame art, diligently ftudying the remains of antiquity, 
and the works of Michael Angelo, and at length came to 
be employed by cardinal Montalto, afterwards pope 
Sixtus V. That extraordinary perfon bad already, though 
in an humble fortune, begun to difplay the magnificence, 
of his character, by undertaking the conflriuSfion of the 
grand chapel of the Manger in the church of St. Maria 
Maggiore, and the fmall palace of the garden near the 
fame cathedral. The pope, Gregory XIII. however, 
difpleafed that one of the poor cardinals fliould engage in 
fuch defigns, took from Montalto his allowance from the 
holy fee, and thus put a flop to his works. On this occa- 
fion, Fontana aided with a fpirit not inferior to that of his 
employer: he took up a thoufand crowns which he had 
faved, and went on with the building of the chapel at 
his own expence. Montalto felt the obligation, and 
when he was raifed to the pontifical throne, created Fon¬ 
tana his architect. The chapel and palace were finiflied 
in a fplendid ffyle, but this was a fmall part of the vaft 
defigns projected by Sixtus for perpetuating his memory. 
Befides completing the dome of St. Peter’s, he refolved 
to contribute to its grandeur by conveying in front of its 
piazza the obelifk of a (Ingle piece of Egyptian granite, 
which had formerly decorated the circus of Nero. Other 
pontiffs had entertained the fame defign, but none had ven¬ 
tured to encounter the difficulty and expence of moving 
fo vaft a mafs. Sixtus began by fummoning from all 
parts engineers and architects to give their advice refpedft- 
ing the execution of the work. Numerous plans were 
produced, but that of Fontana at length obtained the pre¬ 
ference ; which was happily brought to effedf in Septem¬ 
ber 1586, and ranks among the greateft, though not the 
mod ufeful, exploits of that memorable pontificate. 
Rewards were lavilhed upon Fontana ; he was made a 
noble Roman, and a knight of the golden fpur : he had 
a penlion of two thoufand gold crowns, with reverfion 
to his heirs, and a gratuity of five thoufand, with the gift 
of the vaft machinery employed on the occafion. He had 
likewife the honour of infetibing his name on the bafe of 
the obelilk. Fontana was afterwards employed in the 
elevation of other obelifks, and in thc^ embelliffiment of 
fome of the principal ftreets of Rome. He decorated 
the front of St. John Lateran, and added a fuperb loggia. 
He built the Vatican library, and began great additions to 
that palace, which were interrupted by the death of 
Sixtus. One of his great works was the conducting of 
the water named Felice to Rome, from a diftahee of 
fifteen miles, in a channel in feveral places fupported 
upon arcades. It ends in an ornamented fountain at the 
fquare called Termini. Clement VIII. who fucceeded 
Sixtus, employed Fontana for a time ; and his great re¬ 
putation caufed him to be engaged by the viceroy of 
Naples as architect to the king, and firft engineer to the 
two kingdoms. He removed to Naples in 1592, and mar¬ 
ried. Various works of ornament and utility were com¬ 
mitted to his management, the mod confiderable of which 
was the royal palace, ereCted under the vice-royalty of 
the count of Lemos. His laft work was the plan of a new 
harbour for Naples, which was not put into execution 
till after his deceafe. He died at Naples in 1607, at the 
age of (ixty-four. 
FONTA'NA FO'RA, a town of Italy, in the kingdom 
of Naples, and province of Capitanata : fourteen miles 
foiuh-weft of Salpe. 
FONTA, 
