Bologna’s Marvelous Fountain of Neptune: A Testament to Renaissance Artistry
The Fountain of Neptune, also known as “the Giant,” is one of Bologna’s most well-known landmarks. It is a sculpture by Giambologna and is close to the Piazza Maggiore and the Basilica of San Petronio.
It is one of Bologna’s most well-known landmarks and one of the first things that most tourist guides say about the city. We’re talking about the Fountain of Neptune, which is a work of art made in honor of the god of the sea, whom the people of Bologna call “the Giant.”
The statue of Giambologna, which is 3.20 meters tall and weighs 22 quintals, is a very impressive piece. It is part of a Renaissance complex that was commissioned in 1564 by the papal deputy delegate Pier Donato Cesi to decorate an area where houses had been torn down. This is how the current Piazza del Nettuno came to be. It is now a beautiful way to get to the city’s main square, Piazza Maggiore.
The real leader of the urban renewal project in Cesi, which was backed by Pope Pius IV, was this man. He was in charge of building the portico of Palazzo dei Banchi, which was given to Vignola, and the Archiginnasio, the new headquarters of the University of Bologna.
The Flemish sculptor and the other artists at the Fountain of Neptune
The Fountain of Neptune was finished in 1566, two years after construction began. It wasn’t made by just one artist, but by three: the Palermo architect Tommaso Laurani, who designed the complex’s architecture; the Flemish sculptor Jean de Boulogne, better known in Italy as Giambologna, to whom Laurani gave the task of making the statue of Neptune and the other sculptural parts of the fountain; and the fountain’s founder,
It wasn’t the first time Giambologna had trouble with the idea of the sea god. A few years before, he had tried to win the bid to build the Fountain of Neptune in Piazza della Signoria in Florence, but he didn’t succeed. So, the Bolognese project gave the sculptor a real chance to make up for his mistakes, which he did by making a dynamic figure with perfect shape symmetry in the Mannerist style.
With his outstretched arm, Neptune represents the power of the Pope, who rules over Catholics just like the Roman god who rules over the waves and sea creatures. In a broader sense, the work is meant to praise the kind and generous way the pope runs his government. The four points at the base of Neptune, which represent the great rivers of the four continents known at the time (the Ganges, the Nile, the Amazon River, and the Danube), emphasize the meaning of the statue.
Below the statue is a high stone base with more sculptures on it, including dolphins and heraldic coats of arms, as well as the putti we just talked about. But what really gets people’s attention are the sirens at the corners of the base. From their breasts, small jets of water shoot out, which, along with the other 38 nozzles, make beautiful water games.
The fountain in Piazza Nettuno was fed by two springs: the ancient Remonda spring, which flows near the hill of San Michele in Bosco, and the water from the Conserva di Valverde, which was built to increase the flow because it had become too slow.
The water went into the large basin on the three steps of the base, which was made of limestone (specifically Veronese ammonitic red) and bronzetto marble from Verona.
The stone parts of the fountain were made by the artists Giovanni Andrea della Porta, Antonio Fasano, and Andrea Riva. The colors of the materials used for the unfinished facade of the Basilica of San Petronio were based on those of the free Municipality of Bologna.
On the sides of the large stone basin, there are four Latin inscriptions that explain what the clients wanted and what the fountain’s purpose is. The work was built in MDLXIIII (1564) for Fori Ornamento (to decorate the square), Aere Publico (with public money), and Populi Commodus (for the people to use).
The people of Bologna took this last hint literally and used the water from the Fountain of Neptune right away for their own practical and personal needs.
At the Piazza Maggiore market, fruit and vegetables were being cleaned by vendors, clothes were being washed by laundresses, and water carriers helped people fill buckets with water to take back to their homes.
When the tub was turned into a Vespa scooter, the city of Bologna put a fence around it to protect it. The fence was taken down in 1888.
The health of the fountain wasn’t just hurt by people who broke things. From the 18th century until now, the monument has had several conservative restorations to fix structural problems (cracks, surface deterioration, etc.) that have arisen over time.
The statue of the Giant is in great shape now, thanks to restoration work done in 2017 on the stone materials and the plumbing system. It survived the two world wars because it was taken down by the government.
Interesting facts and secrets about the Fountain of Neptune
When telling the story of the Fountain of Neptune, you can’t help but bring up the strange story of the Giant’s Finger, which, when put in context, sparked people’s imaginations.
In fact, the people of Bologna know that if they stand in Piazza del Nettuno in the direction of via Rizzoli, where there is a dark stone called the “stone of shame,” the thumb of the god Neptune’s outstretched hand appears at the level of the groin and looks like a standing member.
Tradition, which is almost an urban legend, says that this “spicy” view came about because Giambologna was looking for a way to make Neptune’s genitalia look bigger and get around the Pope’s censorship.
Lastly, one of the interesting things about the statue of Neptune is the trident in the god’s hand. In 1926, the Maserati car company chose this trident as the symbol of its brand, and it still stands out on the cars of this well-known Bolognese company.
How to reach it
The Fountain of Neptune is in a part of Bologna where cars aren’t allowed. You can walk there from the station along Via Indipendenza in about 20 minutes, or you can take a bus.