The monument to Vincenzo Bellini in Piazza Stesicoro was returned to the city today, under pouring rain. Veiled since the beginning of the year, the historic work of art, created by the sculptor Giulio Monteverde in the second half of the 19th century, has been restored thanks to an intervention desired by the mayor and the municipal council. In the square this afternoon for the new inauguration ceremony, together with the mayor, there were the councilors Alessandro Porto, Paolo La Greca, Sergio Parisi and the head of Cabinet Giuseppe Ferraro.
“Vincenzo Bellini returns in all his splendor and I think it was the least we could do for those who made Catania prestigious and allowed it to be returned to the rest of the national territory as one of the cities that gave birth to one of the five most important composers of our homeland,” declared the mayor.
The regeneration intervention carried out in the planning and execution phase by the technicians of the municipal department for public works, was aimed at recovering all the constituent materials of the Catania Swan monument, damaged in several places by the wear of time and smog citizen.
The monument to Bellini, in white marble, is fifteen meters high. Seven steps rest on the base, indicating the musical notes. At the top of the staircase there is a statue of the great Catanian composer sitting on a chair. On the four sides of the column there are four statues as an allegory of his most famous works: Norma, I puritani, La sonnambula and Il pirata. The execution of the works was entrusted to expert master restorers who used techniques to safeguard and enhance the monument in all its parts.
