Neptune´s Fountain
Ammannati (1563–1565) and his assistants, such as Giambologna, were commissioned to design and complete the work on the occasion of the wedding of Francesco I de' Medici with Joanna of Austria in 1565. The assignment had first been given to Baccio Bandinelli, who designed the model but he died before he could start working on the block of Apuan marble.The Neptune figure, whose face resembles that of Cosimo I de' Medici, was meant to be an allusion to the dominion of the Florentines over the sea. The figure stands on a high pedestal in the middle of an octagonal fountain. The pedestal is decorated with the mythical figures of Scylla and Charybdis. The statue of Neptune is a copy made in the nineteenth century, while the original is in the National Museum.However, when the work was finished, it was not appreciated in particular by the Florentines, who called it Il Biancone (the white giant).