Mapei has contributed to the restoration work on the Bagni Misteriosi, a multi-coloured sculptural complex created in 1973 to a design by Giorgio De Chirico and currently located in the Triennale gardens in Milan.
Following an initial restoration project in 1997, which was confined to reassembling the sculptures and making them safe, Mapei contributed to the subsequent restoration work completed in 2010. The second cycle of work, which has just reached completion, was prompted by the need to repair weather-damage to the coloured finishes produced in the first cycle, using unprotected water-colours.
At the request of the Triennale's restoration workshop director, this stage of the work was done with acrylic products capable of withstanding the stresses to which outdoor applications are exposed. It also restored the sculptures of which the fountain consists to their lively original colours, which were carefully mapped by the Mapei Colour Laboratory, by means of spectrophotometry.
The pool surrounding the fountain was then waterproofed and water was returned to the system.
The work on the Bagni Misteriosi is one of a series of restoration jobs to artworks in Milan, planned as part of the city's upgrading project in preparation for Expo 2015.
As part of the restoration work on the De Chirico fountain, a base screed was made using TOPCEM PRONTO, the special water-based binder for normal-setting, quick-drying and controlled-shrinkage screeds. The base of the statue was waterproofed with TRIBLOCK FINISH, a three-component thixotropic cement-based epoxy mortar for levelling substrates, MAPECOAT I600W, a two-component transparent aqueous epoxy primer and ELASTOCOLOR WATERPROOF, an acrylic paint formulated for applications in permanent contact with water.