Giambologna, a renowned Italian sculptor, built this magnificent statue in the late 1500s as a representation of Italy’s untamed Appenine Mountains. It is half man and half mountain. Its appropriately called Appennino, a mountain god, towers 35 feet above the earth in Tuscany’s Villa di Pratolino.
The untamed, mountainous monument conceals a marvelous secret: inside, there are multiple compartments serving various purposes that gave this colossus life. It is said that there was room in his skull intended for a fireplace that, when lighted, would blow smoke out of his nostrils. The monster which his left hand is holding spilled water from a subterranean stream.
Villa Demidoff, the park where the colossus is now located, is only accessible on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10AM until the end of October
Hmmm