Fiona Galea Debono tours the Triton Fountain for a closer look and discovers an underworld of corridors, pipes, pumps… and corrosion.

The Triton Fountain at Valletta’s City Gate square may appear to be functioning from the outside but the underlying passageways, with their old fittings and makeshift repairs, are in need of drastic work.

The worst damage the fountain suffered was in 1978, when the plate at the top collapsed and broke the statues

That’s the view of a man who has been researching the fountain for the last 25 years.

Following a seven-month survey, Kenneth Cauchi, Transport Minister Austin Gatt’s consultant on the fountain, has concluded it is in a “disastrous” state. It is a nightmare to maintain and needs a complete overhaul, he says.

The Triton Fountain is more than the statues in view; it includes a series of concentric corridors, with fittings that have been corroding over the last 52 years.

In some areas, stalactites of calcium, normally found in caves, and rusticles “like the Titanic”, have formed. Roots of trees at the terminus have seeped into the pump room, looking for water, and the concrete walls are splitting.

A visit to these hidden areas of the fountain and a closer look serve to explain the €2 million price tag recently given for its restoration, which could be completed in less than the stipulated 18 months.

Mr Cauchi could not say when the works will start but that a find-out of what needs to be done and who has the technical know-how to carry it out had been identified.

“It is just a matter of sitting at a table and sorting out the priorities,” he said.

The fate of the fountain has changed a couple of times since the Renzo Piano project kicked off. Plans to shift it to Floriana were welcomed by some but rubbished by many who felt it should remain at the city’s entrance where it has been since 1959. The plans were abandoned because of the restoration job required.

Given that the construction beneath is based on a skeleton of reinforced concrete rings clad in blocks of travertine weighing a total of 730 tonnes and already cracked, “it would be impossible to move it without breaking it, such is its fragile state”, Mr Cauchi said.

The €2 million would also cover the fitting of new pumps, filters and pipes, parts of which are resting on concrete and have “severely corroded”.

The “impotent” pumps, too small for the job, mean the full impact of the water flow, as it was cleverly designed in 1955, is not being appreciated. The water should be rising to hit the bronze statues, but only the lowest level is being filled due to a lack of pressure, instead of reaching the upper ditch and flowing back out of its spouts.

But the worst damage the fountain suffered was in 1978, when the plate at the top collapsed and broke the statues. For nine years, it was switched off and suffered corrosion.

In 1986, the bronze statues were welded together but the bumps of the repairs are visible. They were filled with concrete, which has now expanded, cracking the bronze. The statues are also full of water and orange due to the rust.

The plan is to dismantle them through their joints, remove the concrete inside and replace it with a stainless steel skeleton, welding the bronze work over it, Mr Cauchi said.

“Eventually, both in practice and in theory, the Tritons will be carrying the full weight of the plate again, rather than it being supported by the central pipe that was added on later,” Mr Cauchi has proposed.

Since it fell, the plate is also warped, and although Mr Cauchi would like to save the original, a new one may have to be cast.

The plans in the pipeline include adding filters to ensure crystal-clear water quality at all times – similar to famous fountains in Rome. That will do away with any dares for money to swim in its murky waters and replace them with a fine instead.

On the outside…

The Triton Fountain’s artistic designer Vincent Apap planned it around a series of concentric circles and it is an example of perfect symmetry.

Every single mortar joint is perfectly aligned and if you had the opportunity to stand between the statues, you would notice each gap is facing the road ahead, be it Republic Street, or the mall to Floriana.

An overhead view brings to mind the wheel and spokes of a karrozzin. Everything radiates from the centre and the roads converge into the midst of the fountain.

In numbers, it includes 32 nozzles, 32 blocks of travertine and 32 carved leaf sculptures.