The statue of

Cosimo I de' Medici Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second and last duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first grand duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Cosimo I succeeded his cousin to the duchy. ...

stands in the middle of Knights' Square of

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

, just in front of

Palazzo della Carovana Palazzo della Carovana (also Palazzo dei Cavalieri) is a palace in Knights' Square, Pisa, Italy, presently housing the main building of the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. History It was built in 1562–1564 by Giorgio Vasari for the headquar ...

. The Grand Duke Cosimo is represented in the robes of Grand Master, standing on a high

pedestal A pedestal or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In civil engineering, it is also called ''basement''. The minimum height o ...

, in the act of subduing a

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

, symbol of his domination over the seas. The fountain, in front of the pedestal, was also erected by Francavilla. It has a basin in the form of a shell decorated with two grotesque monsters.

History

It was commissioned by Grand Duke Ferdinando I in 1596 to the Franco-Flemish sculptor Pietro Francavilla, who executed it in the elegant Late Mannerist tradition. The statue celebrates Ferdinando's father as the first Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of St. Stephen and is a civic symbol of the hegemony of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Gallery

Image:Pietro_Francavilla%2C_statua_di_cosimo_I_01.JPG, Statue Image:Pietro_Francavilla%2C_statua_di_cosimo_I_02.JPG, Fountain Image:Pisa.Cosimo de Medici.jpg, With Palazzo dell'Orologio Cosimo I 16th-century sculptures Sculptures of men in Italy Monuments and memorials in Florence Fountains in Italy Sculptures of dolphins Animal sculptures in Italy

References

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