![\"Caryatid\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/07\/Caryatid.jpg\")
<\/a>Caryatid<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Modigliani<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, best know for his highly stylised elongated portraits and nudes,\u00a0was born in Livorno on the 12th of July 1884 but moved to Paris, France, in 1906.\u00a0For years, a rumour had been circulating Livorno that\u00a0shortly before leaving for Paris, Modigliani asked\u00a0his friends for their opinion of the sculptures that he\u2019d been working <\/span>on. Their advice: throw them away and start afresh! It is said that Modigliani, in an act of rage and disgust, hurled at least four of his sculptures into the nearby Fosso Reale.<\/p>\n Testa Femminile<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Let’s go back 31 years to July\u00a01984: it\u2019s\u00a0the 100th anniversary of Modigliani\u2019s birth, and to celebrate the event Vera Durb\u00e9, curator of the Museo<\/strong> Progressivo d\u2019Arte Moderna di Livorno<\/strong>, and her brother Dario, renowned art critic and curator of the Galleria Nazionale di Arte Moderna di Roma<\/strong>, organise an exhibition of Modiglian\u2019s sculptures in Livorno.<\/p>\n But things don\u2019t go as well as expected. Not surprising really when you consider that of the 27 or so sculptures produced by Modigliani only 4 were available for the centenary exhibition. \u201cWhat this exhibition needs<\/span>\u201d thought the organisers \u201cis something that will\u00a0capture the public\u2019s imagination\u201d<\/p>\n Vera Durb\u00e9\u00a0was a confirmed believer in\u00a0the legend of Modigliani\u2019s lost sculptures, and the idea of trying to verify the story seemed to provide the perfect opportunity to provoke the public\u2019s curiosity and entice them to visit the failing exhibition. Filled with enthusiasm, she\u00a0proceeded to organise the dredging of a section of the Fosso Reale near Modigliani\u2019s former studio.<\/p>\n July 1984: Crowds form along the banks of the Fosso Reale to follow the search for Modigliani’s lost sculptures.<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n The\u00a0spectacular \u2018treasure hunt\u2019\u00a0immediately gained the hoped for publicity, including a televised spot. But what happened next was probably beyond the wildest dreams of Vera and Dario Durb\u00e9: after eight laborious days of dredging and filtering the contents of the canal, a miracle …<\/p>\n \u2026\u00a0Eureka! sotto gli occhi dei livornesi e delle telecamere viene a galla la cosiddetta Mod\u00ec 1, cio\u00e8 la prima testa di donna. E l\u2019entusiasmo cresce ancora quando la draga recupera altre due teste, Mod\u00ec 2 e Mod\u00ec 3. Tre sculture di Amedeo Modigliani recuperate dai fossi livornesi: la leggenda dunque era vera, un evento di portata storica per l\u2019arte mondiale.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2026\u00a0Eureka! before the eyes of the people of Livorno and the television cameras the so called Mod\u00ec 1, the first (sculpted) woman’s head, came up to the surface. And the enthusiasm continued to grow when the dredging recovers another two heads, Mod\u00ec 2 and Mod\u00ec 3. Three sculptures by Amedeo Modigliano recovered from the Fosso Reale: the legend, therefore, was true, a history making event in the world of art. (excerpt taken from Dagospia<\/a><\/strong><\/span>) <\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>