Fendi shows gratitude to Rome, unveils restored Trevi Fountain

Italian fashion house Fendi has completed the restoration of the Trevi Fountain in Rome ahead of schedule.

Fendi announced in 2013 that the restoration of the famous fountain would be under its patronage and estimated that the water would flow once more by the end of 2015. Fendi is not alone in its restoration project, as many luxury houses, including fellow Roman brands Bulgari and Tod's, have given back to their local communities as an example of CSR, and in some cases a thank you for endless inspiration.

Fixed fountains
The city of Rome had to carry out an emergency fix on the fountain, which cost it approximately $433,500. When they investigated the structure more thoroughly it was decided more work was necessary.

Rome put out a call for help to local businesses and individuals, and Fendi answered, becoming the sole patron for the project and donating almost $3 million to the cause. Fendi’s heritage is deeply embedded in the Italian capital and the city has been a constant source of inspiration for the brand, so it felt strongly about aiding the project, according to a brand statement.

The “Fendi for Fountains” initiative allows the brand to reinforce its Roman heritage by giving back to the city that has supplied inspiration to the label over the years. Now that it is completed, Fendi is expected to move onto additional landmarks in its hometown that are in need of restoration and repair (see story).

//

According to Fendi’s Web site, the restoration work, done by 26 restorers, took 516 working days of the 600 scheduled days allotted to finish the project. During the course of the restoration there were 59,092 visits to its Web site and 2,867 and 1,721 mobile application downloads on Apple and Android, respectively.

Fendi has shared its involvement in the restoration on its social channels now that the Trevi Fountain has been returned to its original splendor. The brand included scenes from the inauguration ceremony which shows Fendi’s CEO Pietro Beccari throwing a good luck coin into the fountain, as is tradition, and saying, “[Fendi is] giving back to Rome what Rome gave to Fendi.”

On its Web site, consumers can scroll through an image gallery, watch drone footage of the fountain and see the restoration process in a timelapse film.