Rome Mayor Ignazio Marino and the
management of the Fendi fashion house on Monday opened
restoration work on the world-famous Trevi Fountain, one of the
most iconic spots in Rome.
"We hope to restore this treasured landmark to the city in
the autumn of 2015, Marino said.
"Doing a traditional lucky coin toss into the legendary
fountain," Marino said "it's fundamental to get private sponsors
for this kind of large-scale work where public funds simply
aren't enough to cover the costs".
Workers on Monday were giving the final touches to a
walkway above the central portion of the fountain which will
enable tourists to get a better glimpse of ongoing work on the
18th-century Baroque masterpiece by Nicola Salvi immortalized by
many movie stars, including Anita Ekberg and Marcello
Mastroianni in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita.
A small white fountain was also installed on Monday
morning so visitors will still be able to cast their coins for
luck.
Water has been drained for the renovation process which is
expected to last one year and a half.
Fendi is funding the restoration of the Trevi Fountain in
an initiative similar to work on the Colosseum and the Spanish
steps, funded respectively by Tod's entrepreneur Diego Della
Valle and jeweler Bulgari.
Fendi, one of the biggest names in Italian fashion, has
donated 2.12 million euros to restore the Trevi Fountain in the
first of a series of projects aimed to protect Rome's historic
fountains.
In January, then Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno and the
chairman and chief executive of Fendi, Pietro Beccari, announced
Fendi's ambitious plan to save one of the city's most romantic
landmarks at a joint media conference with Silvia Venturini
Fendi and designer Karl Lagerfeld, the creative director of
Fendi who is also backing the project.
Entitled 'Fendi for Fountains', the initiative includes
sponsorship for a two-year restoration of the Trevi Fountain as
well as plans to restore the Four Fountains sculpture on the
busy Via XX September in the heart of the Eternal City.
After several months of negotiations Fendi handed over the
funds for the restoration of the Trevi in December last year and
made a significant contribution towards the preservation of the
other fountain, which is covered in the sooty emissions of the
thousands of cars that pass by it every day.
"The restoration of the Trevi Fountain, one of the
best-known Roman monuments in the world, shows the importance of
cooperation between public and private support," Mayor Alemanno
said at the time.
Italy's cash-strapped cultural authorities are increasingly
looking to private sponsors for support despite widespread
concern that they might commercially exploit their link with the
country's beloved monuments.
Last year cultural officials approved a controversial plan
to restore the Colosseum with 25 million euros in funding
provided by luxury shoemaker Tod's.
Opponents have raised questions about whether Tod's will
exploit the move for publicity and its commencement was long
delayed by a legal challenge.
But officials stressed that Fendi was willing to cover the
cost of covering the restoration of the Trevi without seeking
any publicity in return.
"This is an historic day for our city," said Dino
Gasperini, the councillor for cultural affairs and the historic
centre. "This doesn't happen every day".
The Trevi Fountain was built between 1732 and 1762 above an
ancient Roman aqueduct.
Every year millions of tourists from around the world stop
by the fountain for a photo or to toss a coin over their
shoulder which according to local legend will bring them back to
Rome.
Last year the city of Rome was forced to carry out
emergency work at a cost of 320,000 euros after a piece of the
monument fell off and Alemanno appealed to large companies and
wealthy individuals to intervene and help save the monument.
At Monday's media conference, Umberto Broccoli, Rome's
cultural superintendent, held up a fallen fragment of the
fountain to underscore the urgency and importance of the Fendi
proposal.
Restoration of the Trevi is expected to take 20 months and
be completed in 2015 while work on the Four Fountains monument
is expected to be put to tender before the end of 2013.
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