Humility

Putto with Dolphin Fountain by Verrochio, ca. 1470

Michelozzo courtyard, Palazzo Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy

Fountain in Marble with Bronze Sculpture

Restored by the MMG Foundation 2016-2018

Inspiration / Motivation

Conservation treatments on the Verocchio fountain had already begun at the end of 2015 and involved a team of four specialized conservators, one of whom was Mircea. Therefore, our first project focused on concluding a restoration and cleaning, as well as consolidating and protecting the marble, porphyry and bronze elements that constitute the fountain. Our thoughts were that it would be worthwhile to protect the work that Mircea had helped achieve. By the end of June, the fountain was unveiled to the delight of the public who now admire the trickling flow of water that for centuries has characterized one of the most important courtyards of Florence.

With this on-going protection in mind, the Foundation completed a three-year agreement (2017-2019) with the City of Florence to finance and execute maintenance treatments on our beloved fountain of the Putto with Dolphin. The need for a maintenance campaign was necessary because of an excessive algae proliferation. One of the main reasons for the growth of these microorganisms was due to the water running through the fountain not being treated. In the 1930’s, a closed water cleaning system connected the small Putto fountain inside the courtyard of Palazzo Vecchio with the much larger and impressive Neptune located in the piazza della Signoria. This filtrated closed-circuit water system was shut down during World War II and forgotten about, that is, until it was rediscovered during the 2016 conservation campaign undertaken with the help of Mircea personally.

Outcomes

In view of the conservation treatments that were underway on the Neptune during 2016, the city town hall decided to restore the closed circuit filtered system. And so now the mighty Neptune shares its waters with our petite Putto and Dolphin, while the proliferation of algae and other organisms is kept in check. During the interim period, the Bastioni team maintained the fountain and its marble base—preserving the completed restoration—thanks to funding from the MMG Foundation.