All Fountains & Wells in Bologna

The Fontana del Nettuno is Bologna’s most famous fountain and one of the city’s principal Renaissance landmarks. Completed in the sixteenth century, it combines the architectural design of Tommaso Laureti with Giambologna’s monumental bronze figure of Neptune. The sea god stands above smaller sculpted figures in Piazza del Nettuno, immediately beside Piazza Maggiore and Palazzo Re Enzo.

The smaller Fontana Vecchia stands against the façade of Palazzo d’Accursio on Via Ugo Bassi. It was designed by Tommaso Laureti, the same architect responsible for the architectural structure of the nearby Fountain of Neptune. Both fountains formed part of sixteenth-century projects intended to improve the supply of drinking water to central Bologna.

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    Fountain of Neptune

    Bologna, Emilia-Romagna

    The Fountain of Neptune (Fontana del Nettuno) is a wonderful fountain in Bologna, made by Giambologna in the 16th century, located in the square dedicated to the same deity of the sea.   SHORT HISTORY OF THE FOUNTAIN OF NEPTUNE The Fountain of Neptune is, in fact, a collaborative project of Zanobio Portigiani, Tommaso Laureti and Giambologna, commissioned by the vice-minister Pier Donato Cesi to glorify the papal government of Pope Pius IV. The purpose of the fountain was to embellish the new Piazza del Nettuno, adjacent to the beautiful Piazza Maggiore. The project was assigned on August 2, 1563, to the Bolognese architect Zanobio Portigiani, to the Palermitan architect Tommaso Laureti, who was delegated to execute the architectural structure of the fountain, and finally to the Flemish Mannerist sculptor Giambologna (Jean Boulogne), commissioned to build the bronze statue of Neptune and the sculptural parts. The Fountain of Neptune was completed in 1566. In 1604, a high fence was built around the fountain, which effectively managed to prevent acts of vandalism. The fence was removed by the city’s administration only in 1888. Throughout its history, the Neptune fountain has undergone numerous restorations. A first restoration took place in 1708 by Read more [...]