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Published: August 9th 2015
The Fountain of Neptune is one of Bologna most known attractions.
I see lots of people admiring it, taking pictures of it, listening to their guides, reading about it, as real tourists do. It is a a very unusual monument presenting, in addition to naked giant Neptune, some sexy nymphs. From Wiki: Its bronze figure of
Neptune, extending his reach in a lordly gesture of stilling and controlling the waters, is an early work by
Giambologna, completed about 1567.
Recently I see that less and less people take pictures from the right location, representing Neptune's story:
The story tells that Giambologna wanted to fashion Neptune with larger genitalia but naturally met with opposition from the Church. Not only that, he was ordered to destroy his statue and rebuilt it because the specific body part was too large for the church to accept.
He did as ordered but in a very smart way: he designed the statue so that from a particular angle the thumb of the outstretched left hand lines up with the groin area, making it look like an erect penis.
So the right angle
to picture it is.. nearly from it's back. According to the prelates, the women of
Bologna were so disturbed by the sight that the Church had to put bronze pants on the statue.
Maybe that's why there's no indications about the best location to take pictures…
So one morning I woke up very early and went to film Neptune's story. I tried telling the story but wasn't happy with the result so I took a silent clip. It's not the best (to say te least) but I think it explains a bit..
No need to thank me..
