A sixteenth century marble sculpture of a head of lady referred to as the Head of Medusa that was stolen from a nymphaeum exterior Florence greater than a century in the past and lately recovered by authorities will probably be restored by Florence’s prestigious conservation establishment, the Opificio delle Pietre Dure.
The pinnacle was initially a part of Fonte della Fata Morgana, a backyard construction on the grounds of the Villa Il Riposo within the municipality of Bagno a Ripoli 4 miles southeast of Florence. It was constructed by Bernardo Vecchietti, banker and advisor to dukes Cosimo I and Francesco I de’ Medici, within the 1570s as an arcadian retreat for the household’s summer season dwelling. Devoted to Morgan Le Fay (Fata Morgana in Italian), it was designed by Medici court docket sculptor Giambologna who lived with Vecchietti for a number of years.
The Fonte was constructed on historical spring and included a nymphaeum dug out a hill and a grotto enclosed in a constructing of pink plaster with white stone doorways and home windows. There’s a black and white pebble mosaic flooring inside that spells out “Fata Morgana” and an inscription on the wall that invitations the reader to drink from the rejuvenating waters of the fountain. The fountain continues to be there, however the statue of Morgan Le Fay made by Giambologna personally was faraway from the fountain by 1730. It was nonetheless within the villa till the 1760s when it was offered to an English artwork seller in Florence. 
He offered it to an unknown non-public collector and it disappeared till 1989, when it emerged at an public sale. Final yr it was acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Artwork.
The Head of Medusa, which was most likely one other depiction of Morgan Le Fay however her curls have been misinterpreted as snakes, was one of many different ornamental sculptures within the Fonte. It was illegally eliminated within the early twentieth century and was misplaced for greater than 100 years till it instantly reappeared in an public sale just a few months in the past. The Cultural Heritage Safety Unit of the Carabinieri returned it to the municipality which owns the Fonte and due to this fact all its contents.
The city requested the Opificio to look after the Head after years of neglect with the objective of guaranteeing its long-term stability so it could go on public show. The Opificio’s stone specialists will analyze it completely utilizing non-invasive strategies to diagnose its situation and conservation wants.
As soon as the Head of Medusa is restored, it will likely be exhibited on the Bargello Nationwide Museum pending a full restoration of the nymphaeum. Proper now the Fonte is just not in situation to accommodate the unique sculpture, however a replica will probably be put in as a replacement.
