Luminous fountain renovation
Dante square, Oneglia, Imperia

The fountain of Dante square, in Oneglia, is the historic business card of the city that for more than sixty years has welcomed travellers with its water games and the sweetness of its cherubs. Work of the sculptor Virgilio Audagna, who created it in 1956, the fountain stands in the centre of the square, in the heart of the nineteenth-century historic centre, from which the main streets and typically Piedmontese-inspired porches branch off and house elegant and luxurious shops. The Municipality of Imperia committed the restyling of the fountain to Forme d’Acqua Venice Fountains, which has realized the work following the technical design of the restoration by Eng. Marco Savini. At the first site inspection, the area was in disuse for a few months and the pool was entirely covered with a limestone veneer, therefore the first step of Forme d’Acqua was to formulate a careful MEP design that identified the most suitable solutions to give a long-lasting and sustainable fountain to the city. The fountain stands at the centre of a roundabout in a raised pool with three water games that play to each other: the meeting point is the magnificent central Geiser nozzle OASE 60T, whose jet reach three meters in height, in which the jets of the great crown of ninety-six nozzles OASE Comet 3-6 converge coplanar to the perimeter of the pool and the water arches of the four nozzles Oase Comet 5-10T of the four cherubs. The water of the fountain is moved by five pumps, which suck it and put it back into circulation optimizing the management of water resources: three pumps Fluidra Victoria Plus Silent 3HP 2,2Kw feed one the Geiser and the other two the perimeter crown in AISI 316 stainless steel, while the cherubs are connected to a pump Fluidra Victoria Plus Silent 1/2HP 0,43Kw. The fifth pump, a Fluidra Victoria Plus Silent 1/2HP 0,43Kw, is entrusted to the filtration of the pool, together with an Astralpool Aster 500 sand filter and an EMEC panel with double dosing pump for managing acidification and chlorination with continuous reading control probe with automatic in-line replenishment and remote control. An automatic loading device was also installed with an OASE 20-4 control sensor and a LOVATO control unit, and a custom-made overflow that can be inspected with wall recess in AISI 316 stainless steel and two drains, made with two OASE concrete parts and two OASE Plug 70T. An anemometer proportionally adjusts the height of the jets based on the speed and pressure of the wind, further safeguarding the water resources and avoiding accidentally wetting the vehicles and people passing nearby the roundabout. To complete the restyling, a scenographic lighting given by sixteen TECLUMEN LED Mini Sub RGB+W 12V/AC 17W DMX IP68 120° Spots, which, thanks to the DMX communication protocol and an interface control unit it’s possible to set the automatic regulation and select the light features through the My Fountain APP. In the technical room of the former municipal building of Oneglia there is the control panel for the automatic management of the fountain, lighting, filtration and automatic loading with stop for dry motors, all with remote control. The building works were coordinated by Forme d'Acqua and involved the cleaning and restoring of the marble, waterproofing the pool with SikaTop Seal-107 White cementitious mortar with the addition of Arreghini K81 Tavern Buff 4055P pigmentation and the removal of the old crown of nozzles and outdated technology. In addition, structural changes have been made functional to the new Technologies.   In support of the intervention, the e-Gardening company took care of the recovery and restoration of the surrounding green area, with the renovation of the automatic irrigation system with rain sensor and the refurbishment of the greenery with the laying of ready-made lawn. The restyling of the fountain is linked to a large urban redevelopment project, which also involves the reconstruction of the arcades in via Bonfante, the relocation of the newsstands to the square and the transfer of the bus terminus to the nearby Largo Nannolo Piana. The cost of the intervention, equal to one million and 650 thousand euros, is financed entirely by the Liguria Region through the Regional Strategic Fund.