Oct 4, 2010

Piazza del Nettuno, Bologna

The towering statue of God Neptune, the God of Sea stood majestically at the centre of Piazza del Nettuno. The fountain with statues of cherubs and mermaids was one formidable sight. Tourists were hovering around this fountain taking pictures from various angles. The statues were sculpted in 1566 by Giambologna and the muscled god arrests the attention of every tourist even today.


Just beneath him around his feet are four cherubs; they represent the winds.


Further below are four mermaids, the reason for all the chatter around I guessed. Elegantly sculpted, these mermaids had water spouting out of their breasts. Quite a strange and unique imagination of the sculptor I thought. They symbolized the four known continents of the pre-Oceania world. They are named after the big streams Danuba, Ganges, Amazon and Nile on these continents.


The fountain is truly beautifully made, I felt as I moved on.

See more of the World at: That's My World

35 comments:

Sylvia K said...

What a gorgeous fountain! I found that some of the most beautiful fountains were in Italy and I loved them all! These I hadn't seen and your photos, as always, are the very next best thing to being there. Have a wonderful week, Indrani!

Sylvia

Joop Zand said...

Great pictures Indrani, i like this very much.

greetings, Joop

ewok1993 said...

the public art displays in the form of wonderful fountains are what make Europe truly special, i'd think.

Carver said...

That's a beautiful fountain and you took some wonderful shots to share it with us.

Cloudia said...

Putti


joyous!


Warm Aloha from Waikiki

Comfort Spiral

☺lani☺ said...

fountain, love it! have a nice day!

George said...

These are great pictures of the fountain. I think I would enjoy touring Europe just to enjoy the fountains. Thanks for sharing these with us.

Pagan Sphinx said...

That is an incredible structure. It is worth enlarging this photo for all the great detail.

I'm planning to go to Italy one of these years. It sounds like it can't be until 2013.

This is my World!

Lily Hydrangea said...

Quite strange indeed! I wonder if the sculptor had a sense of humor?

ladyfi said...

What a magnificent and unique fountain! So very Italian in some way...

Anu said...

Absolutely gorgeous!

magiceye said...

wonderful sculptures!

lotusleaf said...

Beautiful sculptures.

Joyful said...

It's amazing how well preserved the fountain is after all the time that has passed since it's sculpture.

Marinela Reka said...

Lovely pictures Indrani.. amazing blog.
Love your great work here :)
Short Poems

Reader Wil said...

Giambologna must have known a lot of our globe, creating these mermaids representing those great and famous rivers. The statue is impressive and your photos are beautiful as always!
Thanks for your visit.

Ash said...

LOVE LOVE LOVE Italy!!!

Kamini said...

Beautiful fountains. The last picture made me laugh!

माधव( Madhav) said...

nice

Rajesh said...

The statues are beautifully carved.

Joy Palakkal said...

Graet Statues!!!
Especially God Neptune..
Have a Great Week Ahead!!

SandyCarlson said...

Stellar photos. Thank you.

Coffeeveggie addict. said...

beautiful f0untain,last photo is quite interesting h0w the sculpt0r thinks 0n putting the water int0 the breast. the stronger and the flexible

rocksea said...

wow! what a surprise! bologna was our home for the last 2 years until we moved to pune. we stayed near the piazza maggiore/nettuno. i see that you have been to mantua, modena etc! great. missing all those places, bologna and italy so much after seeing your pictures.

Pixel said...

Creative structures! Very nicely captured!

Pixellicious Photos

Phivos Nicolaides said...

A great historical and beautiful place to be.

Keats The Sunshine Girl said...

Great pictures - I love fountains and am attracted to them.

Mitr Friend - Bhushavali said...

Intersting sculptures!!! :)

All gals trip to Yercaud
Being a Saree clad Bride's Maid

Prospero said...

You post is fortuitous: I was just thinking about Neptune.

Irene said...

Great pictures .... love the scenery!

Hazel said...

It's always a wonderful experience to see objects of art and beauty. Being able to take photos of them nicely, like the way you did this and shared with us, is a quite a bonus. Thanks, Indrani.

Jeevan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeevan said...

Lovely, even it looks strange and unique.

R Sudhir Kumar said...

WoW! The statue is majestic, must have been thrilling to see right??

RNSANE said...

Unfortunately, with my job loss almost two years ago, my travels have halted. I regret I will probably never get to see the marvels of Bologna. I am so glad, though, I've been to Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence, Lucca, Portofino, and some other beautiful places in Italy.