Apennine Colossus
The Apennine Colossus () is a stone statue, approximately high, in the estate of the Villa Demidoff in Vaglia, Tuscany in Italy. The colossus was erected in the late 1580s by the Flemish sculptor Jean de Boulogne, better known as Giambologna, as a personification of the Apennine mountains. The site was originally part of the estate of the Villa di Pratolino, which was built by Bernardo Buontalenti from 1569 onwards on orders by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Francesco de' Medici. Description of the sculpture. The colossus is about high and meant as a personification of the Apennine Mountains , the water source for the Pratolino its fountains and secret water plays. The colossus has the appearance of an elderly man crouched at the shore of a lake and is depicted in a realistic, suggestive pose. It is surrounded by several mythological themes from Ovid's Metamorphoses like Pegasus, Parnassus or Jupiter and it is assumed that Giambologna was inspired by the description of a mountain-like Atlas in Ovid's work, when he designed the figure of Apennine. Other sources cite the Atlas as described in the "Aeneid" of the Roman poet Virgil as an inspiration. With his left  hand in front of him, the Apennine seems to squeeze the head of a sea monster through whose open mouth water flows into the pond ahead of the statue. The stone colossus is depicted naked, with stalactites in the thick beard and long hair to show the metamorphosis of man and mountain, blending his body with the surrounding nature, populated by aquatic vegetation. The statue is described to originally have been emerging from its environment like being alive. The giant was able to sweat and weep, water poured out from his body from a network of water-pipes. In the  winter season, icicles would cover his body. The work is about 11 metres in height, made up of stone and plaster and appearing to be partially covered with moss and lichens. Within the giant exist a series of chambers and caves on three levels. In the ground floor of the colossus exists a cave containing an octagonal fountain dedicated to the Greek goddess Thetys. The Italian painter Jacopo Ligozzi adorned the Grotto de Thetys with frescos of villages from the Mediterranean coast of Tuscany in 1586. In other chambers mining scenes based on the book "De re metallica" by the  mineralogist Georgius Agricola were to be seen. In the giant's upper floor is a chamber big enough for a small orchestra and in the head a small chamber holds a fireplace out of which the smoke would escape through his nostrils. The chamber in the head had slits in the ears and the eyes. Francesco enjoyed fishing while sitting in the head chamber, throwing the fishing line through one of the eye slits. At night the chamber was illuminated with torches, following which the eyes appeared to glow in the dark. Initially, the back of the Colossus was protected  by a structure resembling a cave, as seen on an etching by Stefano della Bella. On top of it, there was a terrace. The cave-like structure was demolished around 1690 by the sculptor Giovan Battista Foggini, who also built a statue of a dragon to adorn the back of the colossus. The dragon was described to have been a fountain, but it is assumed the dragon's belly was transformed into a fireplace while the dragon's neck and head had the function of its chimney. In 1876 the Italian sculptor Rinaldo Barbetti renovated the giant statue. Location and  ownership. The Pratolino is located about north of Florence at the foot of the Apennine mountain range. In it, there is a rectangular square called the Prato del Appennino, situated in front of the colossus. After Francesco de' Medici's death in 1587 and that of his wife Bianca Capello the next day, the villa and its surroundings fell into decay. The Villa di Pratolino was demolished in 1822 and in 1872, the heirs of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, sold the estate to the Demidoff family who built their own villa on it. In 1981 the Villa Demidoff  was purchased by the Province of Florence and today the park and its giant are accessible to the public.