Puttino Fountain
The Puttino Fountain (Boy with a Dolphin) is a reproduction of a 15th-century sculpture by Andrea del Verrocchio which stands in the Palazzo Vecchio coutyard in Florence. It was purchased in Italy then donated to the Garden by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Pitcher in 1980 in honour of the UN's Year of the Child. It was repaired in 2017 when the Children's Garden was transformed into the Backyard Bird Garden.
'Puttino' is a diminutive form of 'putto', a chubby male child, usually naked and often with wings. History of the original. Leonardo da Vinci served his artistic apprenticeship in Verrocchio's workshop. In those times, the master often took credit for his students' work. Who knows, maybe da Vinci was involved with our Puttino?
Update June 2023: The fountain is leaking and not safe for birds (birds have drowned because they can’t climb out). It will be turned off all season and replaced with a bird bath until it can be replaced with a more appropriate fountain for birds, with a burbling water feature.
Photo by Heide Dobler for the City of Vancouver.