An Underwater Museum to Protect Tuscan Fish
About 25 feet below the rippling surface of a rocky promontory in Talamone, on the southern Tuscan coast, schools of fish visited a museum of four marble blocks, mined from Michelangelo’s preferred quarry and sculpted by acclaimed artists. Farther north, another 20 Carrara marble sculptures had a different job — as submerged sentries against the illegal bottom trawling that has depleted Talamone’s marine life.
Client
The New York Times
Year
2019
Paolo Fanciulli, aka Paolo The Fisherman, next to sculpted marble blocks waiting to be lowered into the sea as part of his project
Paolo Fanciulli’s “House of Fish” project is part environmental activism, part arts initiative, part marketing campaign, part bid for a lasting legacy.
Juan David Galvis, Paolo Fanciulli's assistant and brother-in-law, sails Paolo Fanciulli's "Sirena" boat in Talamone
Mr. Fanciulli takes tourists on his boat for “fishing-tourism” expeditions off the Tuscan coast
"Ittico Ziggurat", a 20 tonne carved piece of Carrara marble by artist Massimo Catalani, underwater in Talamone
“Acqua,” a carved piece of Carrara marble by the artist Giorgio Butini, underwater in Talamone
