Every autumn, when a new Podestà (mayor) was elected, the fountain flowed with celebratory free wine. Red wine streamed from one of the woman’s breasts while white wine poured from the other. The torrent of free tipples lasted for three days, and the yearly tradition continued up until the fall of the Venetian Republic.

The original statue, which was placed inside the Praetorian Palace, was damaged when the Napoleonic soldiers entered the city and shot at it because they viewed it as a symbol of the local rulers’ power. The fountain then went missing and remained lost until the end of the 19th century.