Fountain of Neptune
Piazza della Signoria
Florence Italy
2016

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_of_Neptune,_Florence

The Fountain of Neptune in Florence, Italy, is situated in the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The fountain was commissioned by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1559 to celebrate the marriage of Francesco de' Medici I to Grand Duchess Joanna of Austria.

The fountain was designed by Baccio Bandinelli, but created by Bartolomeo Ammannati with the assistance of several other artists between 1560 and 1574. It incorporates a series of mythological figures and iconographies that symbolize both Cosimo I de' Medici's power and the union of Francesco and Joanna.

It has sustained a great deal of damage over the years due to vandalism and general mistreatment but underwent a major restoration completed in 2019 that restored it to its original glory.

Ammannati created The Fountain of Neptune based on the designs drawn by Bandinelli] Although Ammannati was the fountain's main sculptor he was assisted by several artists throughout the completion from 1560-1574. Some of the artists include Vincenzo de' Rossi, who cast the four satyrs, and the Flemish artist Giambologna. Rossi was also commissioned by Cosimo to create the Labors of Hercules after he lost the competition for the Neptune project. The sculptors who assisted in carving the giant marble Neptune were Andrea Calamech, Battista Fiammeri, and Cesare di Nicodemo.

The Fountain of Neptune consists of many different parts; aside from the giant Neptune atop a shell-shaped horse-drawn chariot, the fountain also has Tritons, Satyrs, two young women with Putti, two young men with dolphins, and Fauns. Neptune's features were modeled after Cosimo I de' Medici, which was appropriate parallel due to Cosimo's recent victory over Pisa, giving Florence safe access to the Mediterranean for trade.

Because the fountain's scale was so large, it forced Ammannati to make some innovative choices when constructing his giant Neptune. Two of the horses were white marble, but the other two were made of mischio, a marble discovered near the Duke's excavation site in Seravezza. This new marble was a type of breccia and had a variety of colors including red, yellow and purple. Because this was a new medium, its qualities were unknown to sculptors at the time and the hard, brittle quality of the mischio made Ammannait's task even more difficult.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piazza_della_Signoria

Piazza della Signoria is a w-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. It was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio. It is the main point of the origin and history of the Florentine Republic and still maintains its reputation as the political focus of the city.