Overlooking the Piazza della Signoria

Happy New Year to everyone! I didn’t have anytime to take pictures of any New Year Countdown this year as I was busy at work on New Year’s Eve. Continuing with my recent series on Italy and Switzerland instead…

The statue of Hercules and Cacus overlooks the Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. From the Wikipedia:

The white marble statue Hercules and Cacus is one of the statues lined up on the Piazza della Signoria in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. This work by the Florentine artist Baccio Bandinelli (1525-1534) was commissioned as a counterpart for the other statues David, Fountain of Neptune and Judith and Holofernes. These (original statues) had been commissioned by the republican counsel of Florence to commemorate the victory over the Medici.

The mythologican Hercules had killed the fire-breathing monster Cacus during his tenth labor. Hercules had become the symbol of strength and integrity, a symbol used by the Medici. This marble group shows the basic theme of the victor (the Medici) and the vanquished (the republicans).

I caught this view of Hercules and Cacus at dusk during our honeymoon trip to Italy. By the time the shot was taken, the skies were almost pitch-black. The blue skies you see here were added on from another shot that I took earlier at the same place.