The Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry (, abbreviated as FAFM) is an Italian bronze casting workshop that produces original sculptures and recreations using the Renaissance-era technique of lost-wax casting. It was established in Florence in 1905.
Works associated with the foundry include the 1998 La Fontana del Porcellino in Florence’s Loggia del Mercato Nuovo, the Arlington Memorial Bridge approach statue Sacrifice and a sculpture of the United Nations' Celestial Sphere Woodrow Wilson Memorial.
History Ferdinando Marinelli moved to Florence as a teenager and apprenticed under artisans such as Cusmano Vignali and Gabellini. He learned both stirrup manufacturing and the lost-wax casting technique. In 1905, he established a small workshop on Via de’ Giudei (now Via Ramaglianti) in Florence.
In 1915, Marinelli joined Alessandro Biagiotti's foundry.Maria Maugeri, La Fonderia Artistica di Ferdinando Marinelli a Rifredi, EDIFIR Florence 2006, p. 27 After World War I, he purchased the late Gabellini's foundry on Via del Romito (now Via Filippo Corridoni). During this era, the foundry created monuments in Piazza Dalmatia, Florence, Poggio a Caiano, Barberino Val d'Elsa, and Cerbaia, commemorating World War I and collaborated with artists like Mario Moschi and Odo Franceschi.
In 1925, the foundry erected a monument dedicated to the painter Giovanni Fattori. In 1927, the Florence Chamber of Commerce listed the foundry among local artistic industries. Independent sources describe its use of traditional bronze casting methods.M. Salvini, Le industrie artistiche nella provincia di Firenze, Florence, 1927, p. 109
Notable castings Year Artist Title Location Country Photo 1925 Valmore Gemignani Giovanni Fattori Livorno Italy 1927 Mario Moschi Monument to the FallenMonumento ai caduti Piazza Dalmazia, Florence Italy 1929 José Belloni The Pioneer's CartLa Carretta dei Pionieri Parque Batlle, Montevideo Uruguay 1930 Guglielmo Colasanti Madonna degli Angeli Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Assisi Italy 1930 José Belloni William TellGugliemo Tell Parque Rodó, Montevideo Uruguay 1932 Antonio Maraini Bramante Staircase, Vatican Museums Vatican City Vatican City 1932 Posthumously of Michelangelo Pietà, Museo Soumaya Mexico City Mexico 1939 Tomb of Pope Pius XI Vatican City Vatican City 1944 Vico Consorti Door of ThanksgivingPorta della Riconoscenza Siena Cathedral Italy 1949 Leo Friedlander Sacrifice Arlington Memorial Bridge, Washington, DC United States 1950 Vico Consorti Porta SantaHoly Door St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City Vatican City 1953 Giovanni Cappelletti Christopher Columbus Newport, Rhode Island United States 1960 Valteroni Door, Cathedral of OropaPorta della Cattedrale di Oropa Sanctuary of Oropa Italy 1969 Mario Moschi Sacred Heart DoorPorta del Sacro Cuore Basilica del Sacro Cuore, Sassari Italy 1972 Bruno Burracchini Catherine of Siena Fortezza Medicea, Siena Italy 1984 Sergio Benvenuti Fountain of the Two OceansFontana dei due oceani San Diego, California United States 1989 Robert Dean Monument to Dwight Eisenhower Grosvenor Square, London United Kingdom 1998 Posthumously of Pietro Tacca PorcellinoFontana del Porcellino Loggia del Mercato Nuovo, Florence Italy 1998 Restoration of Kremlin Halls Grand Kremlin Palace, Moscow Russia 1999 Handrail, Vatican MuseumsCorrimano della Nuova Rampa dei Musei Vaticani Vatican City Vatican City 2001 Sergio Benvenuti Broncos' Fountain Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver United States 2006 Posthumously of Giambologna BacchusBacco Borgo San Jacopo, Florence Italy 2007 Posthumously of Ghiberti St. MatthewSan Matteo Orsanmichele Church, Florence Italy 2008 Posthumously The Etruscan MinervaMinerva Etrusca National Archaeological Museum (Florence) Italy 2008 Valentina Stevanovska Warrior on Horseback Macedonia Square, Skopje North Macedonia 2008 Posthumously of Donatello David (with gold plating) Bargello, Florence Italy 2010 Posthumously Chimera of Arezzo National Archaeological Museum (Florence) Italy 2013 Arto Tchakmaktchian Espoir Laval, Quebec, Montreal Canada2018 (restoration)Paul ManshipCelestial Sphere Woodrow Wilson MemorialPalace of Nations, United Nations Office at Geneva, Canton of GenevaSwitzerland
See also Conservation and restoration of cultural property Pietro Bazzanti e Figlio Art Gallery
References