History
The Giuseppe Verdi Monument was donated to the City of Buffalo by the Italian-Americans of the city in 1907, it was then moved to its present location near Symphony Circle and rededicated in 1977. The monument consists of a ten foot granite pedestal and an over life-sized bronze bust of the 19th century composer Giuseppe Verdi, sculpted by Antonio Ugo.
Description
Treatment of the monument began with an overall cleaning of both the bronze and masonry components with appropriate detergents to remove soiling. Restoration of the masonry included: repointing all of the masonry joints, patching large losses to the granite base with matching restoration mortar, epoxy fills at smaller spalls found on the granite, and retouching of the paint of the inscriptions. The existing wax coating on the bronze bust had deteriorated, resulting in a mottled and uneven appearance. WEI’s conservators removed the coating and replaced it with a new hot wax, which saturated the patina of the bronze and unified the piece’s appearance. The bronze was given an additional coat of wax and then buffed to a luster. The entire restoration was documented from start to finish and a treatment report with maintenance recommendations was submitted at the end of the project.