Fountain of Neptune

Did you know that Maserati car manufacturer logo comes from this fountain ?)

In my opinion, the best place from Bologna

Arriving from the beautiful Via dell'Indipendenza to Piazza del Nettuno, we immediately notice a beautiful fountain. The Fountain of Neptune ( Fontana dell Nettuno) is a monumental civic fountain located in the eponymous square, Piazza del Nettuno, next to Piazza Maggiore. The fountain of Neptune is one of the symbols of Bologna. Originally Neptune fountain should have been set in the centre of Piazza Maggiore. But, during '500 century, Piazza Maggiore was a noisy open-air food market. In addition, many other events took place at Piazza Maggiore, so it was not suitable to place a fountain in that location. In 1563 Pio IV became Pope. He decided to build the fountain. To assert his power over Bologna and take back the reins of the city, he conceived a symbol. An imposing and severe God ( Neptune ), that with his left hand calms the waters beneath him, controls the rebel Bolognese people and brings water to the city. The statue was an early design by Giambologna, but the design and assembly of the fountain was completed by the Palermitan architect Tommaso Laureti in 1563. The fountain was completed in 1565. The base is decorated with pontifical emblems, ornaments that connected to four cherubs and which hold dolphins (which are allegorical representation of major rivers from the then-known corners of the world: the Ganges, the Nile, the Amazon River, and the Danube. In the centre of this base raises the majestic figure of the Neptune sculpted by Giambologna, the statue is a typical expressions of the manneristic theatricality. In the centre of the tank, there is a base where there are four Nereids who holding their breasts, from which jets of water emerge. It is interesting that Bologna is not only a city of good food, beautiful palaces, churches, squares, already we can outside the city walls you can find some of the best car and motorcycle manufacturers such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Ducati. That's how we find out it is Mario Maserati, one of the founders' brothers of Maserati luxury car brand, created the company logo inspired by Neptune's trident, which he precisely reproduced. Since 1926, when their first car 'Tipo 26' started to run, the trident proudly stands on every model. Marvelous fountain.

Definitely visit it during a day not during a night!!! It was very dark and I couldn’t see it and click some photos properly!! Lightning was really bad during that night!! I wish it would be more brighter at that time. Anyways, it is a beautiful Fountain. Surely you should visit it!!

Powerful statue commanding all the surroundings of a beautiful ancient square

After road tripping Italy from south to north, imitating countless statues while shooting silly photos, we finally came across one that my girlfriend didn't want to pose in front of ? so here's a regular, plain and boring video of just the fountain. It's fenced off right now btw, so you can't get close

You are certainly not gonna miss this fountain once you are in Bologna since it is located right in the biggest square Piazza Maggiore. I'm not gonna go into details how impressive it is since it was already mentioned in other reviews but we think this is such a nice place to hang out.

What a centerpiece to have in the main city square of Bologna. The Fountain of Neptune is an amazing work of art that manages to capture your attention in the middle of one of the most impressive public squares that I've ever seen. Get close and you will discover amazing details, especially when it comes to various parts of the female anatomy sprouting water into the fountain. The fountain has had a profound influence on sculpture worldwide. There are copies of it in Belgium, Georgia, Japan and the US.