Triton Fountain (Valletta)
| Triton fountain | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| place | Valletta |
| country |
 Malta
|
| use | Fountain |
| construction time | 1955-1959 |
| architect | Vincent Apap |
| Technical specifications | |
| height | 4 m |
| diameter | 30 m |
| Floor space | 55 m² |
| Floors | three |
| Building material | Reinforced concrete , bronze |
| Coordinates | |
| location | Coordinates: 35 ° 53 '44.1 " N , 14 ° 30' 29.8" E 35 ° 53 '44.1 " N , 14 ° 30' 29.8" E |
The Triton Fountain ( English Triton Fountain , Maltese Funtana tat-Tritoni ) is a fountain that stands in the Maltese capital Valletta on the Triton Fountain Square not far from the City Gate.
It was made between 1955 and 1959 , based on a model by the local sculptor Vincent Apap.
history
prehistory
The fountain is located in the Maltese capital Valetta on the site of the former lunette of St. Madeleine. This 17th century bulwark protected the entrance to the city. After the lunette was dismantled in the 19th century, the residents filled in the associated ditch and created road access to the city center via a new bridge.
During the colonial period , in 1952, the coalition government under Sir Paul Boffa (Partit Nazzjonalista) and Giorgio Borg Olivier as well as the Malta Labor Party came up with the idea of setting up a monumental ornamental fountain on the square in the capital that had been vacated by the demolished lunette. The ministry responsible for public works and reconstruction organized a design competition. From the suggestions received, city planners selected the model for a triton fountain by the sculptor Vincent Apap (1909–2003) with the assistance of Victor Anastasi (1913–1993) for implementation. Anastasi provided the plans for the technical and architectural layout. With the figure of Triton, Apap tied in with the maritime history of Malta. According to sketches found later, he was inspired by the Roman fountains Fontana delle Tartarughe and the Fontana delle Naiadi .
construction
Apap first made a 1: 1 plaster model of the fountain figures, then the bronze figures were created in a foundry in Naples . Excavation, masonry and installation work was carried out on site from 1955 to 1958.
The monument was inaugurated on May 16, 1959, after which the square was named Triton Fountain Square .
The first planned upper water bowl was found to be too heavy for the group of figures when this monument was erected. A shipyard in Malta then delivered a lighter shell that carried a shallow, air-filled tank for the purpose of further weight reduction through the incoming water.
Use and its consequences
In the first decades, the fountain was often used as a backdrop for music festivals. During their “siege”, the visitors damaged large parts of the fountain, especially the light upper shell and the bronze tank inside. The increased water pressure then also damaged one of the arms of a Triton, which in turn led to the breakage of the bronze bowl and the arms of the other Tritons also destroyed.
So from the mid-1980s, renovation measures had to be carried out in which the company Malta Drydocks repaired the bronze pool, which, however, remained warped. The damaged Triton figures were also repaired, and to improve the statics, the group of figures received a central bronze column that Apap had re-modeled. It depicts a swarm of gulls ascending and was installed in 1986. All water pipes are now hidden in it, including the supply pipes to the tritone arms. The rest of the water comes out of the seagull column and fountains in the various pools.
The ornamental fountain has been a listed building since 2012 and is listed in the National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands.
In April 2011, the responsible ministry suggested moving the well to another location. It is no longer up-to-date because it comes from colonial times, and it also urgently needs to be repaired. Ultimately, only the sculptures should be effective, the function of the fountain should not be restored.
Apparently this proposal was not implemented, the fountain is still in its place and thus also marks the entrance to the city center.
"The time has now come for an extensive renovation"
Despite the renovation measures, cracks were found on the tritons again in the 2010s, the travertine slabs are soiled, and pipes are corroded. To this end, the Department of Contracts of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure published a basic document in 2015 that aims to restore the well in its original appearance and function. Modern technologies and standards may be used to enhance the authentic architectural value of the Triton Fountain as a visible and dynamic national monument. As current photos from the beginning of 2017 show, the repair has started, the figures have been dismantled . The renovation work was completed in 2018.
description
The most important element of the fountain are three tritons about 2.50 m high , each of which in dramatic poses hold an almost round bowl of water (vaschietta; diameter about 3.50 m) above their heads with just one arm stretched out. All three figures are on a round plinth , two sitting and the third kneeling. The tritons, the seagull column and the top water bowl are cast from bronze .
All three figures look at the city gate. The position of the tritons conveys both a feeling of power and a feeling of monumentality , which is created by the dynamic spiral movement. This movement is underlined by the water jets emerging from the uppermost bowl and by the lower water jets directed into the fountain basin.
The group of figures stands on a pedestal that is slightly raised in a round basin, the Bacino centrale (diameter about 16 m). This basin is surrounded by an even larger water-bearing basin, the vasca intermedia that about one meter high and round with Leaf - ornaments made of travertine is decorated symmetrically. From here the well water flowing down finally runs into an outer basin with an outer diameter of about 30 meters, the vasca inferiore, which marks the center of a roundabout and is accessible from all sides via three steps. All pools are made of reinforced concrete and their 1.50 m wide edges invite you to sit down.
Passages and chambers are laid out under the entire system to maintain the water and electrical lines and to enable inspections. This underground system with a total area of 170 square meters can be reached from a manhole on the pavement in front of the well.
The fountain is illuminated when it is dark.
Web links
- Triton Fountain on youtube.com (2:23 minutes)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biography with work information by Vincent Apap (English) , accessed on February 15, 2017.
- ↑ a b c d A historical perspective on the Triton Fountain restoration article on independent.com; accessed on February 16, 2017.
- ^ Triton Fountain. (PDF; 409 kB) In: National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands. Sovrintendenza tal-Patrimonju Kulturale, December 28, 2012, accessed on October 15, 2019 .
- ↑ These statements have been taken from the video on youtube.