Fendi sponsors cleaning and repair of four fountains in Rome.

Luxury fashion house Fendi is to sponsor the cleaning of four well-known fountains in Rome as part of its Fendi for Fountains project which began with its €2 million restoration of the Trevi Fountain in 2015.

The four fountains are the Fontana dell’Acqua Paola (Fontanone on the Janiculum hill), the Acquedotto Felice (Fontana del Mosè in Piazza di S. Bernado), the Acquedotto del Peschiera (Piazzale degli Eroi) and the Acquedotto dell’Acqua Vergine (Fontana del Ninfeo al Pincio).

The cleaning and restoration work will focus mainly on the pools and lower sections of the fountains and will involve removing limescale, upgrading the waterproofing and hydraulic systems, restoring missing plaster and repairing broken water jets.

The project will begin immediately with the Fontanone, the monumental fountain built in 1612 to mark the end of the Acqua Paola aqueduct.

This will be followed by the fountain in Piazzale degli Eroi in the Prati district, then the Fontana del Mosè (between July an August) and finally the Fontana del Ninfeo del Pincio, between September and October.The cost to Fendi will be €280,000 and the works will be carried out - following a public tender - by specialist cleaning company Methodos.

The best known of the four fountains is the Fontanone which featured prominently in the opening scenes of Paolo Sorrentino's Oscar-winning film La Grande Bellezza.

The Fontana del Mosè in Piazza S. Bernardo, near the church of S. Susanna, was built between 1585 and 1589 and marked the terminus of the Acqua Felice aqueduct.

The neoclassical Fontana del Ninfeo was designed by 19th-century Roman architect and urban planner Giuseppe Valadier, while the Fontana del Peschiera, in Piazzale degli Eroi, was built of stonework and was officially opened in 1949.

In 2014 Fendi paid €320,000 to clean and restore the Quattro Fontane complex of fountains near Palazzo del Quirinale.The luxury fashion house is one of several major sponsors of Rome monuments in recent years, the best known of which is the €25 million restoration of the Colosseum by Italian shoe manufacturer Tod's.

In 2014 luxury jeweller Bulgari restored the Spanish Steps and recently announced plans for a €1 million restoration project at the Largo Argentina archaeological site.

Cover image: AgCult