Fontana a Pinocchio

The Fontana a Pinocchio ("Fountain dedicated to Pinocchio") is a fountain located in a traffic island in Corso Indipendenza, a central avenue of Milan, Italy. It is decorated with a complex of bronze statues based on Carlo Collodi's The Adventures of Pinocchio, designed by Italian sculptor Attilio Fagioli (1877–1966) and realized by the "Fonderia Artistica Battaglia" foundry.

The statues were completed by Fagioli in 1955 and the fountain was inaugurated on May 19, 1956.[1]

The main statue portrays Pinocchio, after his transformation into a child, looking down at the inanimate body of the puppet he used to be. Smaller statues of the Cat and the Fox characters from Collodi's book were part of the complex, but have since been partially vandalized. The pedestal on which child Pinocchio is standing bears an inscription by Milanese poet Antonio Negri (1881–1966)[1][2] and based on a line in Collodi's book, reading:

Com'ero buffo quand'ero un burattino! E tu che mi guardi, sei ben sicuro di aver domato il burattino che vive in te?[3]

— Antonio Negri

In 1989, several prefabricated shopping stalls were placed in the traffic lane where the fountain is located, thus making it less visible than it used to be. Thereafter, the fountain has experienced a long period of decay, as the interior of the traffic lane has been used as a rubbish dump[1] and repeated vandalisms have occurred; most notably, the statue of the Cat was stolen, and the nose of Pinocchio has been broken. In 2004, a parliamentary question was directed to the Ministry of Culture complaining about the state of decay of the fountain; also, a spontaneous local committee has formed to promote the requalification of the area.[4][5] In 2010, the prefabricated stalls have been removed by the city authorities and the traffic island has been cleaned up. The fountain has been opened again to the public on December 18, 2013. [6]


References
  1. Pinocchio imprigionato
  2. Antonio Negri
  3. English: How funny I was when I was a puppet! And you there, looking at me, are you really sure that you tamed the puppet within you?
  4. Atti Parlamentari Camera dei Deputati, Xiv Legislatura — Allegato B Ai Resoconti — Seduta Del 28 settembre 2004
  5. Salvate Pinocchio dai vandali
  6. Corso Indipendenza: liberata la fontana di Pinocchio
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