Grotta di Mosè, Renaissance nymphaeum in Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy.
The Grotta di Mosè is a Renaissance nymphaeum in Palazzo Pitti framed by sixteen stone columns that surround an elliptical basin. A red porphyry statue of Moses stands at the center of the back wall.
The space received its decorations between 1634 and 1635 under the direction of architects Giulio and Alfonso Parigi. The work was commissioned by Medici rulers Cosimo II and Ferdinando II.
Four marble statues placed in niches represent the Virtues of the Prince: Charity, Empire, Zeal, and Law. They express allegorical meanings tied to the ideals of rulership.
The grotto sits in the Ammannati courtyard of Palazzo Pitti, positioned between two ramps that lead toward the Boboli Gardens. A ticket to the palace is needed to see it.
Three marble putti by Pompeo Ferrucci del Tadda swim in the basin, giving the space a playful mythological quality. On the vault above, a painted musical angel simulates a stone pergola open to the sky.
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