Neptune's Fountain in Florence
The work of Bartolomeo Ammannati in Piazza della Signoria is known as the Biancone
Right in the centre of Florence's Piazza della Signoria, just under the Palazzo Vecchio, we find the beautiful fountain of Neptune, sculpted by Bartolomeo Ammannati and Giambologna between 1563-65 to celebrate the opening of a new aqueduct. The statue is also known as the Biancone (great white) on account of the brilliance of its marble.
The colossal figure of the sea god on a chariot drawn by four horses is ringed by three young Tritons and four figures that represent the ocean spirit Doris, her daughter Thetis the Nereid, and two other marine divinities. These effigies only serve to highlight the central figure, Neptune himself, who stands predominant over the other statues.
It's worth noting the resemblance between the face of Neptune and that of Cosimo I de' Medici, which alludes to Florence's rule of the sea.
On the front of the pool we find a bronze inscription, testifying to the place where, in May 1498, Girolamo Savonarola, Domenico Buonvicini and Silvestro Maruffi were hanged and burned. It is in this exact spot that the preacher's memory is celebrated every year, on the anniversary of his death.
