The fountain depicting the god of the seas was to symbolize the power of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the Mediterranean. It was commissioned in 1559 by Cosimo I of the Medici Dynasty after the city’s new aqueduct was created. Designed by Baccio Bandinelli, its construction was carried out by Bartolomeo Ammannati.
Cosimo made great efforts to extend his power at sea by increasing merchant and military fleets. In 1561 he founded the Order of Saint Stephen to fight the Ottoman Turks and pirates. The order was a member of the Holy League, the coalition of Catholic maritime states under Pope Pius V, which defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Lepanto in 1571.
The fountain was unveiled in 1574 with some harsh criticism from Florentine citizens who accused Ammannati of wasting good marble. The Florentines refer to Neptune as “Il Biancone”, or the white giant. According to legend, Neptune resembles Cosimo himself. Most likely, at the command of the Tuscan maritime forces, Cosimo considered himself a kind of god of the sea!
Piazza della Signoria has an old history dating back to ancient Roman times. The fountain was erected over the site of an ancient bathhouse active from the 2nd to the 4th century BC built in the square. Excavations carried out in the 1980s in the Piazza found evidence of a structure covering an area of about 3,500 square meters.
Come with me on a walking tour and learn more about the history of the square and its monuments.
