The Piazza della Signoria in the heart of the fascinating city of Florence, Tuscany in Italy is an outdoor museum with many works of art to admire. An always busy square, it is a popular spot for both tourists and Florentines and has been a meeting place since the birth of the city. Among the most striking statues in the Piazza is the fountain which features a statue of Neptune.
Commissioned by the Cosimo de Medici to honour the marriage of the 2nd Grand Duke of Tuscany, Francesco 1 de Medici to the Grand Duchess Johanna of Austria. The original sculptor was supposed to be Bartolomeo Bandinelli, who had created 'Hercules and Cacus', which can also be seen in the Piazza della Signoria. ... continue below the picture...
... However he died before he could begin, although he did complete a model of his design and chose the block of Tuscan Carrara white marble. Bartolomeo Ammannati, who was a student of Bandinelli, continued with the statue, and produced the imposing figure of Neptune, the Roman God of water and the seas.
Neptune stands in sharp contrast to the the bronze ocean deities surrounding the base - the satyrs, tritons and sea nymphs were the work of Giambologna, also known as Jean de Boulogne, a Flemish artist who was Ammannati's assistant. The work was started in 1563 and completed in 1565, and has been admired by millions of visitors to Florence, Italy over the years.
Fountain with a statue of the Roman sea god Neptune in Piazza della Signoria, City of Florence, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Province of Florence, Region of Tuscany, Italy, Europe.
Technical Information:
I photographed this photo with the digital SLR camera model Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, aperture of f/4.0, exposure time of 1/320 sec. on ISO 100, as always I used a original Canon Lens, the focus lenght for this picture was 57mm.