Four fountains, four important Roman monuments, are given back to the public after extraordinary maintenance. Starting from today, the fountains of Acqua Paola at the Gianicolo, Mosè in Piazza San Bernardo, Peschiera in Piazzale degli Eroi and the new Acqua Vergine at the Pincio, in Viale Gabriele d’annunzio, can be admired again.
The Mayor of Rome, Virginia Raggi, and the President and CEO of the FENDI Maison, Serge Brunschwig, together with Rome’s Superintendent of Cultural Heritage, Maria Vittoria Marini Clarelli, inaugurated the conclusion of the works and the reopening to the public of the four fountains.
The works concerned the terminus of famous Roman aqueducts and were made possible by the donations of the FENDI Maison whom, after its sustain in the restoration of the Trevi Fountain and of the Complex of the Four Fountains – part of the FENDI for Fountains project – showed once more its contribution to the enhancement of the artistic heritage of the Eternal City with this new and important project.
The overall cost of the project, drafted by the competent offices of Rome’s Sovrintendenza Capitolina, was € 280.000, assumed entirely by the patron.
Following a public tender, the works were conducted by the firm Methodos by Valeria Mallia, specialized in the restoration of stone materials, and were started on May 29 with the with the Acqua Paola and Peschiera sites, followed by the Mosè and Ninfeo del Pincio ones in the subsequent months. The works were concluded in compliance with the deadline and concerned the surface of the basins and all the lower parts of the front side; all surfaces have been washed and cleaned from biological patinas and calcareous incrusting, and, in addition, damages have been strengthened and plastered where necessary. Finally, waterproofing of all basins and inspection of electrical and water systems occurred.
On this occasion, the Capitoline administration has realized, through the firm Areti, the new LED lighting system as well as the reactivation of the water system – in the process of being completed – of the Peschiera fountain, for a total cost of € 78.000.
The four fountains, which differ by type and execution period, were identified among the numerous ones in the city of Rome because they are terminus of monumental Roman aqueducts, three of which are of Imperial origin – subsequently restored by Popes in different periods –, and to celebrate and eternalise their name by linking it with the great Romanity, while the fourth, the Peschiera one, from the modern age (1949), is considered one of Europe’s greatest aqueducts.
“Rome has always had an important relationship with its fountains and aqueducts, which not only dispense water, yet evoke its preciousness as a symbol of life and rebirth. Each one of these fountains has its own story and contributes, at the same time, to telling the story of the city. The FENDI Maison, which I sincerely thank, and which has tied its name – among the others – to the Mosè, Peschiera, Ninfeo dell’Acqua Vergine and the marvellous ‘Fontanone’ of the Gianicolo fountains by financing this important extraordinary maintenance works of some of Rome’s most beautiful monuments, showing once more, on this occasion, their great love for our Capital. Finally, I would like to thank the technicians, the operators and the offices whom, with their attentive and competent work, created a healthy and positive synergy between the Public Administration and private companies that produced one of those excellent results that become, for Rome, and example of good practice”.
“We are proud of this renewed collaboration between public and private sectors which enabled, once again, to bring back to their original splendour the Gianicolo, Mosè, Ninfeo del Pincio and Peschiera fountains, which are accessible again to the Romans and to the tourists from the whole word. Rome is an integral part of the FENDI DNA and its artistic and cultural heritage is to be preserved for future generations”, states Serge Brunschwig, President and CEO of FENDI.