Fountain of Neptune

Ammanati’s best-known sculpture is the Fountain of Neptune in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence. The central figure was carved out of a colossal block of marble that had been begun by Bandinelli before his death (1560), and this inhibited Ammanati’s treatment. Consequently (by general consent) the Neptune is neither characteristic nor aesthetically satisfactory. More successful are the surrounding bronze figures of four recumbent deities and a troop of gesticulating fauns and satyrs (all 1571-75), modelled and cast under his supervision by a team of assistants.