From Wiki:

The Fountain of the Naiads is located at the centre of the Piazza della Repubblica on the Viminal Hill. The fountain basin is circular and made of concrete. It includes a high central water jet and a number of lateral jets.^[2] At night, the fountain is illuminated by LED lights.^[3]

Around the basin are four bronze sculptures depicting naiads, who are water nymphs from classical mythology. They are the Nymph of the Lakes, who is shown together with a swan, the Nymph of the Rivers, who rests on a river monster, Oceanina—the Nymph of the Oceans—who is taming a wild horse representing waves, and the Nymph of Groundwater, who reclines on a dragon’s back. At the centre of the fountain, a sculpture of the sea god Glaucus symbolises the domination over natural forces. Glaucus is depicted as a naked and muscular man and the sculpture is reminiscent of the works of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. He holds a dolphin from whose mouth the central jet emerges.^[2]

Witley Court, Great Witley, Worcestershire, England is a ruined Italianate mansion. Built for the Foleys in the seventeenth century on the site of a former manor house, it was enormously expanded in the early nineteenth century by the architect John Nash for Thomas Foley, 3rd Baron Foley. The estate was later sold to the Earls of Dudley, who undertook a second massive reconstruction in the mid-19th century, employing the architect Samuel Daukes to create one of the great palaces of Victorian and Edwardian England.

The declining fortune of the Dudleys saw the sale of the court after the First World War to a Kidderminster carpet manufacturer. In 1937 a major fire caused great damage to the court, the estate was broken up and sold and the house was subsequently stripped of its fittings and furnishings. Forty years of decay followed before the house and grounds were taken into the care of The Department of the Environment in 1972. Since that point, significant restoration and stabilisation have secured the house as a spectacular ruin.

Witley Court, and the attached Church of St Michael and All Angels, are both Grade I listed buildings

The two immense fountains survived the fire and subsequent despoliation of the house. They were designed by Nesfield and executed by James Forsyth^[14] and William Forsyth,^[15] who were carrying out sculpture in the house and the church. The largest, the Perseus and Andromeda Fountain, has been restored to working order by English Heritage.^[16] For working times, see the Witley Court English Heritage website (link below). The remnants of Nesfield’s parterres can also be seen. James Forsyth also made the large triumphal arch style drinking fountain in Dudley market place, adorned with sea horses and dolphins, presented in 1867 to the town by the Earl of Dudley.^[17]

In more recent times, the original plans and designs for the formal gardens have been discovered, and they are in the process of being restored. The main area of the gardens, the South Parterre, between the house and the Perseus and Andromeda fountain, has already been completed. Meanwhile, work on the East Parterre region is ongoing.

The spectacular Perseus and Andromeda fountain has been restored to full working order, it is reached via a flight of steps from the south parterre.

The theme of the central sculptural group, which was carved from Portland stone by John Forsyth, is the classical myth of Perseus and Andromeda. Perseus having obtained the head of the Medusa with the help of his winged sandals and his helmet of invisibility, flies to the rescue of Andromeda; she has been chained to a rock by the sea god Poseidon, angry at the suggestion that she is more beautiful than the sea nymphs. A sea monster threatens to devour her, but Perseus gets there first and carries her off on the back of the winged horse Pegasus. Rising out of the water to the left and right are two cupids riding dolphins, replicas based on photographs of the lost originals.*

*From the English Heritage guidebook.

For more of this weeks PhotoHunt pictures check out Whistlestop PhotoHunt.

PS: This is a sneaky preview of my recent visit to Witley Court and Gardens. More photos coming soon…