Recently restored thanks to a €1.5-million investment by Florentine fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo, Ammannati's monumental fountain is impossible to miss. With its pin-headed bronze satyrs and divinities frolicking at its edges, it has long been mocked as 'il biancone' (the big white thing), not to mention a waste of good marble, by many a Florentine.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Piazza della Signoria

The hub of local life since the 13th century, Florentines flock here to meet friends and chat over early-evening aperitivi (predinner drinks) at historic…

2. Palazzo Vecchio

0.02 MILES

This fortress palace, with its crenellations and 94m-high tower, was designed by Arnolfo di Cambio between 1298 and 1314 for the signoria (city government…

3. Loggia dei Lanzi

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What makes Piazza della Signoria so utterly gorgeous is its wealth of fountains and statues, climaxing with this 14th-century loggia where works such as…

4. Gucci Garden

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Elegantly housed in 14th-century Palazzo della Mercanzia, Gucci Garden is an all-out whimsical ode to the Florentine fashion giant. The practically…

5. Chiesa e Museo di Orsanmichele

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This unusual and inspirational church, with a Gothic tabernacle by Andrea Orcagna, was created when the arcades of an old grain market (1290) were walled…

6. Galleria degli Uffizi

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Home to the world's greatest collection of Italian Renaissance art, Florence's premier gallery occupies the vast U-shaped Palazzo degli Uffizi (1560–80),…

7. Il Porcellino

0.09 MILES

Tucked beneath the stone arches, on the southern side of the loggia sheltering the city's 16th-century Mercato Nuovo (literally 'New Market'), today a…

8. Fondazione Zeffirelli

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Opera buffs will adore this museum celebrating more than seven decades of work by the late, internationally renowned, Florence-born film director Franco…