Coordinates: 41°54′31″N 12°28′44″E

Babuino
Il Babuino (Romanesco: Il Babbuino; Italian: Il Babuino,
Il Babbuino
The Baboon) is one of the talking statues of Rome, Italy.
The fountain is situated in front of the Canova Tadolini English: 'The Baboon'
Museum, in via del Babuino.

Contents
History
Political comment and graffiti
See also
Sources
References
External links Year 1581 (Patrizio Grandi)
Type Talking statues of Rome
Subject Silenus
History Named for its grotesque
appearance
The statue is an ancient depiction of a reclining Silenus: a Location Via del Babuino
character in Roman mythology, half man, half goat. In
1581, Patrizio Grandi, a rich merchant, built a public 41°54′31″N 12°28′44″E
fountain in the former via Paolina, which he had decorated
with this statue. According to the custom established by Pope Pius IV
he obtained free water for his house and fields in exchange for
donating the fountain to the city.[1] The people of Rome christened
the figure "babuino" because they considered it ugly and deformed,
like a baboon, and the street was nicknamed the "via del Babuino" as
a result, the name eventually becoming the official one. After being
moved to various other locations in Rome, the statue was returned to
the street in 1957. Il Babuino in 2002.

Political comment and graffiti

Pasquinades — irreverent satirical inscriptions poking fun at public
figures — were posted beside the "talking statues" of Rome in the
16th century. The pasquinades (or, in Italian, pasquinate) of Il
Babuino are more properly called babuinate, but the principle of
satirical criticism is the same.

The tradition of political comment continued as graffiti in modern

times, to the extent that the fountain was considered an eyesore rather
than an asset to this upmarket street. As seen in the 2002 photograph, Details
the wall behind the statue was covered in graffiti, although not on Il Babuino itself. Recently, the wall has been
painted with an anti-vandal paint, to prevent the graffiti reappearing.

See also
Scior Carera in Milan.

Sources
Rendina, C., "Pasquino statua parlante”, ROMA ieri, oggi, domani, n. 20, February 1990.

References
1. About Rome: Fountains of Rome (http://www.aboutroma.com/Fountains-of-Rome.html)

External links
Roma Segreta: via del Babuino (http://www.romasegreta.it/via_del_babuino.html) (in Italian)
The Insider's Guide to Rome, p.73 (https://books.google.com/books?id=jzXsIktocfEC&pg=PA7
3&dq=babuino+silenus&lr=&as_brr=3&sig=m4FZO1pN5ndnAgi-I8HNxUBBWow#PPA73,M1)

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This page was last edited on 10 April 2020, at 14:56 (UTC).

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