Statue of Persian poet Ferdowsi in Rome restored

TEHRAN,Nov. 13 (MNA) -- Restoration of a statue of Abulqasem Ferdowsi located in one of Rome’s squares, which is named after the Persian poet, has been completed. A team of Italian experts spent two months refurbishing the artifact, Iranian acting attaché in Rome Akbar Qowli told on Saturday. “The specific climate of the area had caused damage to the statue over the years and the inscriptions engraved at the foot of the statue had been entirely erased,” Qowli stated. He said that his office pursued the subject and consequently, the Municipality of Rome was tasked with restoring the statue. The municipality also will undertake examining the statue annually for possible need for restoration, he added. The statue was created in 1958 by Abolhassan Seddiqi, who had previously made the statues of Ferdowsi at Tehran’s Ferdowsi Square and the mausoleum of Ferdowsi in Tus. Many Iranian experts have warned about the damage caused by rainfall upon the statue at Tehran’s Ferdowsi Square. Some of the experts have asked cultural officials to replace the statue with a replica and transfer the original to a museum.