Fontana di Nettuno a Messina

The Fountain of Neptune in Messina was designed by Giovan Angelo Montorsoli and completed in 1557. The sculptural group, now represented in Piazza Unità d'Italia by nineteenth-century copies, centres on Neptune with Scylla and Charybdis beneath him; the original statues are preserved in Messina's Regional Museum.

Why it matters

Montorsoli created the fountain for Messina's harbour, where it stood facing the city. The composition celebrates the city's relationship with the Strait and its waters. After the 1908 earthquake, the fountain was reassembled in 1934 in its present piazza, with its orientation changed toward the sea.

What to notice

Neptune stands above the chained figures of Scylla and Charybdis, evoking the dangers of the Strait. Sea horses and marine motifs decorate the basin, alongside imperial emblems. The figures now on the fountain are copies made by Gregorio Zappalà and Letterio Subba. The original Neptune and Scylla, along with Neptune's marble trident, are held at the Museo Regionale Accascina.

Context and history

Montorsoli came to Messina in 1547 to work on the Fountain of Orion and completed the Neptune fountain a decade later. The sculpture was damaged during the 1848 anti-Bourbon bombardment and the 1908 earthquake. Its 1934 relocation to Piazza Unità d'Italia gave the ensemble a new setting on the seafront. The fountain's present arrangement and the museum originals together preserve the history of this major Renaissance work.