Giambologna’s Mercury

Among the garden’s bronzes, Giambologna’s Flying Mercury is the most famous. The original, a masterpiece of Mannerism, is now in the Bargello in Florence; its winged figure, poised on a breath, remains the emblem of the place. Like the other antiques, it recalls that the villa was first of all an open-air museum.

The flying Mercury, after Giambologna, on a garden fountain