The one known as the Mariblanca is a statue of uncertain origin, which was bought in Italy by the Florentine merchant Ludovico Turchi, to crown the disappeared Fountain of Faith in Madrid.

The Italian was commissioned in 1619 by the Junta de Fuentes, an organization of the Madrid city council. It seems that the amount of 15.000 reales was paid for this and some other mythological sculptures, acquired to beautify the capital.

It seems that the statue arrived in Madrid decapitated, due to the transit of the trip, which is why Turchi deducted 100 reales from the carter who transported it from Alicante, Domingo Núñez. For several years it was stored, until, in 1625, when the aforementioned fountain was finished, it could be placed on top.

It is the only thing that remains of this monumental fountain, which was located in the Puerta del Sol, in front of the Church of Buen Suceso, also missing.

The statue turned out to be nomadic, it is almost 400 years old and it is difficult to keep track of it. As we said, it was initially in Puerta del Sol, in 1838 they took it to the Plaza de las Descalzas. From there, to a warehouse for years. In 1912 it was decided to locate it in the Retiro Gardens in Madrid, we have already commented on it on other occasions in 365 days in MadridHistorically, in this city when we don't know what to do with some element of our heritage, it always ends up in El Retiro. Then to Paseo de Recoletos until some acts of vandalism recommended putting it in safekeeping. It was restored and moved to the Madrid History Museum on Fuencarral street. To finally finish at the historic Casa de la Villa de Madrid, the old Town Hall. In the last third of the 20th century, a copy was made, which is the one we see today at the confluence of Puerta del Sol with Calle del Arenal, right at the opposite end of its original location.

If you want to know more about this traveling statue, I recommend reading a great entry about it on the blog Passion for Madrid.

It is a small statue and represents a woman, dressed in classic attire, with a putti at her feet. There is no consensus whether it is Diana, Venus or an allegory of Faith. It does not matter the name that has finally been imposed (you know, the people of Madrid love to give the name that they decide to anything that is in the city), even for official purposes, is that of the Mariblanca, it seems due to the whiteness of the marble with which the statue is carved.

A hug and don't forget to say hello to Mariblanca on your next visit to Sol.

A abrazo.