Fountain of Bacchus

Walking Tours of Florence

Fountain of Bacchus

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There are fountains aplenty in the Boboli Garden, but surely one of the most curious is the Fontana del Bacchino (Fountain of Bacchus).

The fountain, which takes the form of a naked man sitting astride a tortoise, is also known as the Fontanella di Nano Morgante, for the chubby chap is not Bacchus, the god of wine, but Morgante the most celebrated and popular dwarf (nano) at the court of Cosimo I de' Medici (b.1519/r. 1537-74), grand duke of Tuscany.

The dwarf's real name was Braccio di Bartolo, but he was nicknamed, somewhat ironically, after the eponymous giant in Morgante (1483), an epic poem by Luigi Pulci (1432-84).  

The fountain (1560) is the work of Valerio Cioli (1529-99).   ​

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Fountain of Bacchus