To walk around the pond/canal it takes about an hour with stopping at each fountain and terrace for a good look and photo op. I would recommend taking an umbrella if it is drizzling or raining. The ornamental trees provide little protection from the elements.
There are tons of sculptures, mostly in collected groups: the arts, the sciences, personifications of architecture, geography etc. and urns supported by tritons and putti. I bet in the summer it must be delightful, but around about New Year’s it’s a little depressing, especially with the drizzle and fog. The sheer size makes up for it though, damned impressive.
Every quarter kilometer or so one comes to a new fountain and or terrace. Each with it's own theme and dripping with ornament and sculpture.
First up is the fountain of dolphins. They are sort of proto-evolution dolphins as they have claws and are actually rather terrifying. If marvelously sculpted in a grotesquely fantastic way.
Can't sleep the dolphins will eat me! |
Next up is the Fountain of Aeolus. Here is a sort of grotto with several dozen zephyrs spouting water jets.
Fountain of Aeolus. I'd love to get in that artificial grotto, it looks cool! |
After the fountain of Aeolus comes the Fountain of Ceres. I think she is holding a medallion of Persephone?
Ceres, being all fountain like. |
The palace gets further and further away.
It's gonna be a long walk back. |
The fountain of Venus and Adonis is next.
Not entirely sure what is going on in this sculpture but it looks darn sexy.
Add caption |
Finally the statue of Diana and Actaeon, the unfortunate peeping Tom. For his crime of catching the goddess Diana in the nude he was turned into a stag and torn apart by hunting dogs. Nice! Give me that old time religion. The cascade leads from a grotto about 200 feet above the fountain.
Fountain of Diana and Actaeon. |
Someone liked to sculpt dogs methinks. Here's Actaeon getting torn apart:
And here's Diana with all her bathing attendants. It suddenly all becomes clear:
One last look at the cascade from close up and back to the palace. During the summer there are acres of garden to explore.
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