Italy Guide
Emilia-Romagna
Piazza del Nettuno
At the centre of Piazza del Nettuno, the Neptune Fountain, one of the most celebrated symbols of the city, was created by Giambologna in the late sixteenth century. Its extravagant – and when first unveiled highly controversial – composition sees a trident-wielding Neptune sat atop a pile of putti and mermaids – who are themselves arranged rather indelicately astride dolphins shooting water from their breasts. Beside the fountain is a wall lined with photographs of partisans who died in World War II, near another memorial to those killed in 1980 when Fascists bombed Bologna's train station.