Fountain of Neptune
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"The Fountain of Neptune, also called the Fountain of Piazza or the Biancone, is a fountain in Florence created by Bartolomeo Ammannati, located in Piazza della Signoria, near the northwest corner of Palazzo Vecchio.
The figure of Neptune, made of white Carrara marble and which takes on the features of Cosimo I de' Medici, was an allusion to the maritime dominion of Florence; it stands on a pedestal decorated with the statues of Scylla and Charybdis in the center of the octagonal basin.
Although the statue was not particularly appreciated (it is said that the Florentines who came to the night inauguration of the statue upon discovering the work noticed the whiteness of the statue more than its beauty, hence the name "Biancone" and coined the motto "Ammannato, Ammannato, quanto marmo t'hai sciupato!") the work continued over the next ten years, with the help of the best sculptors in the city for the edge of the basin. At the foot of Neptune are three tritons intent on playing tibias that spurt water.
The basin is octagonal and contains the four horses of Neptune's chariot (two in white marble and two in pinkish mix), whose wheels are celestial wheels with the signs of the zodiac, symbolizing the passage of time. At the corners of the basin are groups of marine deities (Tethys, Doris, Oceanus and Nereus), each of whom has at their feet a procession of nymphs, satyrs and fauns in bronze made by Giambologna, masterpieces of the sophisticated elaborations of Florentine Mannerism. One of the statues at the corner of the building, the one that looks towards the wall, was remade in 1831 in Milan by Francesco Pozzi, after the sensational theft of the carnival of the previous year."
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