page_title: Tritons' Fountain
section_title: Restoration
hierarchical_section_title: Tritons' Fountain / Restoration
caption_attribution_description: English: Triton Fountain
context_page_description: The Tritons’ Fountain is a fountain located just outside the City Gate of Valletta, Malta. It consists of three bronze Tritons holding up a large basin, balanced on a concentric base built out of concrete and clad in travertine slabs. The fountain is one of Malta's most important Modernist landmarks.
  Designed and constructed between 1952 and 1959 under no less than three governing bodies, and conceived jointly by eminent sculptor Chevalier Vincent Apap and his collaborator draughtsman Victor Anastasi, the fountain became unofficially operational on Saturday 16 May 1959. The fountain was used as a stage for National Celebrations named 'Mill-Maltin għall-Maltin' and is believed to be what contributed to the dramatic collapse of the sculptural group on Wednesday 1 March 1978.
  The sculptural group was repaired by Malta Drydocks engineers between January 1986 and April 1987. During this intervention a central sculptural addition consisting of three seagulls and seaweed was introduced within the sculptural group, however this arrangement subsequently diminished the role of the gigantic Tritons’ figures.
context_section_description: Restoring the fountain to its lost original splendour (without the central sculpture) had rarely or better never been considered in view of the fact that the fountain was in such a dilapidated state that to most, (politicians included) it had very few limited merits. To make matters worse, established conservation ethics dictated black on white that an artefact's history is part and parcel of the artefact and should not be erased. Curiously enough except for Robert Cassar from the Palace Armoury, no other qualified conservator expressed any feelings publicly to stop the proposed fracas. The general perspective of most was that it was a flea ridden pit in a God forsaken place. Furthermore being dead centre in the middle of a disorganised bus terminus made it even more shabby. The aforementioned plans to relocate the fountain manifested this fact outrightly, however it was clear that the fountain super and sub-structure would never survive the move.  Plans to restore the fountain were first made during the 2011 relocation proposal. After it was announced that the fountain will remain in its original location, it was mentioned that €2 million would be allocated to restore it, removing the alterations done in the 1980s. In January 2015, the Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure announced that restoration will begin that year and would be complete by 2017, at a cost of €500,000. However, nothing materialized initially and the Ministry only began the process to restore the fountain in October 2015. A month later, a pre-qualification questionnaire for prospective bidders interested in restoring the fountain was issued. The government made attempts to find a suitable bidder throughout 2016, until the Ministry signed a contract with Sea Fountain One on 12 January 2017 to restore the fountain to its original state by the end of the year. Restoration work, is to cost about €4 million since the damage was worse than expected.
  The Triton figures began to be dismantled on 4 February 2017, and they were later sent to Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry in Florence to be cleaned. The concrete that was used to fill the brass figures has been removed. A steel structure has been built inside the figures so as to support the weight of the plate, and each figure is now covered in microcrystalline wax for protection and was painted in azurite blue as was their original colour in 1959. The massive base of the fountain was restored by the De Feo Restauri of Rome, a specialized company in restoration of monuments. A new plant room has been constructed, which is connected to the new pump room through a tunnel. The restored Triton figures were sent back to Malta and reinstalled in August 2017, and renovation works of the surrounding square continued until the end of the year.
caption: Restoration on the rest of the fountain on site, in June 2017
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