CIPA 2005 XX International Symposium. 26 September — 01 October, 2005, Torino, Italy 
1087 
FOUNTAINS, DATED 1800; PALAZZO MONTALVO, DATED 1565 
M. Manto, M. Marconi, G. Celestini 
Associazione “Borgo antico” 
E-mail: borgo.antico05@libero.it 
KEY WORDS: Fonte Carpoli, Palazzo Montalvo 
ABSTRACT 
From 2002 "11 Borgo Antico", non profit Association (Onlus), has been working in the coastal park of Tuscany dedicating to the 
repair and restauration ot fountains and washing places which were built during the first half of the 19th Century for the population's 
water supply. 
Since the advent of the main communal supply, many of the numerous fountains in the villages an countryside, and buildings which 
are usually beautiful examples of Tuscan architecture dell'Ottocento have been abandoned, condemned to degradation; even worse, 
this has entrained the loss of good fresh spring water. 
In 2002, a few citizens of Castagneto Carducci and a few volunteers of the Servizio Civile Internazionale, offered their services and a 
restoration program was begun, using material of the period and style of the original buildings under the attentive eye of the Architect 
of Sopraintendenza ai Beni Culturali e Monumenti di Pisa. 
The Fonte Carpoli, the Fonte Foiano, at Castagneto, the Fonte Giulia and Fonte dell'Aquila, at Bolgheri and numerous others, 
constitute the memory of the social and economical history of Castagneto Carducci. 
In three years of activity, the Association II Borgo Antico as enhanced its experience and professionalism; now it is preparing the 
project of restoration of a building, Palazzo Montalvo, dated 1565 at Sassetta, the smallest village in Tuscany. Two architects, expert 
in the restoration of historic building are making the project. 
We trust, within two years, to make the Palazzo Montalvo again available to the population of Sassetta. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
Along the country roads around Castagneto Carducci, on the 
Etruscan coast of Tuscany, you come across the ruins of 
many fountains and washing places. 
Built at the beginning of 1800, these fountains provided 
drinking water for people and animals of the community and 
were used also for washing clothes and for irrigation. They 
were in use until about 1980 when the construction of a rural 
pipeline connected running water to all houses. 
After this date, the fountains were no longer used, and 
consequently degradation ensued, speeded up by the absence 
of upkeep and by the removal of bricks and building material 
for other use. 
However, the worst damage, in the long run was the 
consequential loss of spring water. 
In 1996, an old lady met the writer and suggested the 
restoration of “mi fontina" (my little fountain), as she 
described nostalgically Fonte Carpoli, which she had known 
as a child. 
Ten of most important fountains, which were well built and 
formed part of the economical and social life of the village, 
could be restored and made viable again. 
Imagining how the fountains were once, the lady’s suggestion 
and the sight of the ruins sparked an interest in their 
restoration by using the same “spontaneous” architectural 
manner of former times, constituted an interesting challenge 
for our group. For this purpose in 2002, a non profit 
Association (Onlus) was created under the name of Borgo 
Antico, devoted to the realisation of the above mentioned 
projects. 
After the mayor’s refusal, for many years, to consider the 
restoration, owing to objecting lack of funds and also because 
of scares enthusiasm, a group of four friends decided to seek 
the collaboration of Servizio Civile Intemazionale, a 
voluntary organisation and to begin the restoration with the 
help of private contribution and donations of building 
materials from firms, artisans and shop owners of the village. 
The architect Lorenzo Mancinotti of the Town Hall Public 
Works Dept, who had backed the project from the start, 
convinced the Town Council to grant their support of the and 
collaboration. 
In Summer 2002, volunteers of the S.C.I. started work on the 
restoration of the fountain, filling 12 small lorries with mud 
and detritus, and consuming a dozen metal brushes used for 
cleaning recuperated old stones to be re-used. 
Figure 1. The fountain before reconstruction 
At the end of the cleaning and clearing work, Erich Bleuler, a 
Swiss/Castagnetanian, one of the four animators of the 
project, began the reconstruction of the clothes-washing area, 
everyday teaching the female volunteers how to lay brides 
and stones, in the face of scepticism and incredulity of 
passers-by. 
Day by day, the columns grew (see paragraph “Execution of 
the Project”), and on 30 lh of July 2002, after 24 days work, 
the 9 reconstructed pillars were ready to receive the 5 long 
beams and rafters, which formed the skeleton of the washing- 
area’s roof, the longest part of the fountain. 
In the Autumn and Winter 2002, and in Spring 2003, 
restoration work was continued as time and disposition of 
local craftsmen permitted.