The equestrian statue of Ferdinando I de’ Medici is located in Piazza Santissima Annunziata in Florence. The statue is scenically placed in line with Via dei Servi, so as to be visible from Piazza del Duomo framed by the central arch of the portico of the Santissima Annunziata.
It is one of Giambologna’s last works, commissioned after the sculptor had achieved great international popularity with his equestrian statues, requested by the major European rulers and begun precisely by a commission from Ferdinand I, the equestrian monument to Cosimo I, in the square of the Lordship. From the planning stage the master was supported by Pietro Tacca, his talented student and later his successor in the Borgo Pinti workshop. It is up to him to complete it after the master’s death.
The full-scale model was defined in 1602 and cast in bronze in the autumn of the same year, but the work was completed only in 1607 and placed in the square in October 1608 on the occasion of Cosimo II’s wedding to Mary Magdalene of Austria. The work was cast with bronze from the cannons of the Turkish galleys, won by the Knights of the Military Order of Santo Stefano. In memory of this, the following was engraved on the horse’s girth strap: “Of the metals stolen from the feral Thracian”.
A popular satire had transformed this inscription into “De ‘money stolen in war and peace”, in memory of the salacious taxation of the dukes. The monument was restored around 1995 based on a design by Carlo Francini. If you like this article you can partecipate at our tour. Our Florence Free Tour start from the square of Santa Maria Novella in front of Minerva Hotel.
