Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry
| Industry | metalworking |
|---|---|
| Founded | Florence, Tuscany, Italy, 1905 |
Key people | Ferdinando Marinelli, founder; Ferdinando Marinelli Jr., owner |
| Products | Statues and Monuments in Bronze |
| Website | http://www.fonderiamarinelli.it |
The Ferdinando Marinelli Artistic Foundry (Fonderia Artistica Ferdinando Marinelli also known as FAFM) is one of the last remaining Florentine foundries, producing works in bronze utilizing the Renaissance technique of lost-wax. A large number of bronze sculptures produced in Florence over the last century come from this artistic foundry. One of the most famous and popular works in Florence, the 'La Fontana del Porcellino', was cast by the Marinelli Foundry in 1988 and replaced the antique in 1998.
As early as 1929, Marinelli Foundry was present internationally. It produced the monumental sculpture ‘La Carretta dei Pioneri’ (‘The Pioneer’s Cart’) carved by the Uruguayan artist José Belloni. It may still be seen today in Montevideo. In 1932, the panels of the immense Bramante Staircase at the entrance of the Vatican Museums by Antonio Maraini were cast. A more recent achievement is the ‘Warrior on horseback’ at the Macedonia Square in Skopje, North Macedonia, inaugurated in 2011 and the work of the sculptor Valentina Stevanovska.