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''Babuino'' ( Romanesco: ''Il Babbuino''; it, Il Babuino, ''The Baboon'') is one of the talking statues of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. The fountain is situated in front of the Canova Tadolini Museum, in via del Babuino.


History

The statue is an ancient depiction of a reclining
Silenus In Greek mythology, Silenus (; grc, Σειληνός, Seilēnós, ) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue ('' thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, in which ...
: a character in Roman mythology, half man, half goat. In 1581, Patrizio Grandi, a rich merchant, built a public
fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were ori ...
in the former
via Paolina Via or VIA may refer to the following: Science and technology * MOS Technology 6522, Versatile Interface Adapter * ''Via'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Noctuidae * Via (electronics), a through-connection * VIA Technologies, a Taiwa ...
, which he had decorated with this statue. According to the custom established by Pope Pius IV, he obtained free water for his house and fields in exchange for donating the fountain to the city.About Rome: Fountains of Rome
/ref> The people of Rome christened the figure "babuino" because they considered it ugly and deformed, like a baboon, and the street was nicknamed the "via del Babuino" as a result, the name eventually becoming the official one. After being moved to various other locations in Rome, the statue was returned to the street in 1957.


Political comment and graffiti

Pasquinade A pasquinade or pasquil is a form of satire, usually an anonymous brief lampoon in verse or prose, and can also be seen as a form of literary caricature. The genre became popular in early modern Europe, in the 16th century, though the term had ...
s – irreverent satirical inscriptions poking fun at public figures – were posted beside the "talking statues" of Rome in the 16th century. The pasquinades (or, in Italian, pasquinate) of ''Il Babuino'' are more properly called ''babuinate'', but the principle of satirical criticism is the same. The tradition of political comment continued as
graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...
in modern times, to the extent that the fountain was considered an eyesore rather than an asset to this upmarket street. The wall behind the statue was covered in graffiti, although not on ''Babuino'' itself. Recently, the wall has been painted with an anti-vandal paint, to prevent the graffiti reappearing.


See also

* Scior Carera in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
.


Sources

* Rendina, C., "Pasquino statua parlante”, ''ROMA ieri, oggi, domani'', n. 20, February 1990.


References


External links


Roma Segreta: via del ''Babuino''

''The Insider's Guide to Rome'', p.73
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babuino 1581 sculptures 1581 establishments in Italy Fountains in Rome Talking statues of Rome Rome R. IV Campo Marzio