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19-508: The fountain was created for the garden of don Luigi de Toledo in Florence. Previously the plot of this garden in Florence belonged to the nuns of San Domenico al Maglio and, after a lot of pressure, was obtained in 1551. Subsequently, in 1584, the Palazzo di San Clemente was built near this site. The creation of this unusual garden (devoid of palaces) and of the fountain was commissioned to

38-604: A Hereditary Commander of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem , and member of the privy council. In 1819 he was made Russian ambassador to the court of Tuscany . After divorcing his wife, who moved back to France, he lived his last years in France and Italy among scholars, financing the creation of schools, hospitals and other charitable institutions in Tuscany. He bought 42 acres (170,000 m ) of marshland north of Florence from

57-593: A famous collection of weapons now in the Wallace Collection in London . His collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures is now at the Hermitage Museum . By decree of Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany , on 23 February 1827 Demidov was made "Count of San Donato" for the services he had rendered to Tuscany by setting up a silk factory. He had built a home for the elderly and orphans and donated

76-593: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Nikolai Nikitich Demidov Count Nikolai Nikitich Demidov (9 October / November 1773 Chirkovitsi village near Saint Petersburg – 22 April 1828) was a Russian industrialist, collector, military commander and arts patron of the Demidov family. The son of Nikita Akinfiyevich Demidov (1724–1786) and his third wife Alexandra Evtikhievna Safonova (1745-1778), Nikolai Demidov inherited his father's industrial empire aged only 15 and began to spend so recklessly that

95-819: The Hôtel de Brancas-Lauragais, at the corner of Rue Taitbout and Boulevard des Italiens . However, rising Franco-Russian tensions forced his recall and they moved back to Russia via Italy, arriving in Russia in 1812. He fought with distinction in the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) and at the start of the French invasion of Russia he financed the creation of an infantry regiment, including his son Pavel as one of its officers, which he then commanded against Napoleon's forces, fighting at Oravais and Borodino . Returning to Russia in 1806, Demidov, wanting to introduce all

114-513: The Life of Jacopo Sansovino . In 1634 the Guadagni family bought it, entrusting architect Gherardo Silvani with the renovation of the palace and the garden (1644). The edifice was thus transformed into a suburban villa, of the type then known as a Casino . The family owned it until 1777, when they sold it to Bonnie Prince Charlie , who then used the alias of count of Albany ; since the latter

133-711: The Catholic Church and there built the Villa San Donato from 1827 to 1831, where he set up richly-decorated private rooms, a suite of 14 rooms housing his enormous art collection , a theatre and a foreign languages academy. That collection, reputed among the most lavish private collections in Europe, was divided between his residences in San Donato, Saint Petersburg, Paris and Moscow, included works by Flemish and Italian masters, decorative art objects and

152-651: The Florentine sculptor Francesco Camilliani, student of Baccio Bandinelli . The work was started in 1554. The fountain included 48 statues and was surrounded by a long arbor formed by 90 columns of wood designed by Bartolomeo Ammannati . Giorgio Vasari called the fountain: «stupendissima (...) che non ha pari in Fiorenza nè forse in Italia» («most wonderful (...) unparalleled in Florence and maybe in Italy»). In 1573

171-569: The Ministry of Public Education. He also acclimatised Bordeaux and Champagne vines and Lucca olive trees to the Crimea , imported horses from England, Merino sheep from Switzerland, ordered Kholmogory cattle, Orenburg goats and Caucasian mountain horses, in addition, he made experiments in the cultivation of cotton and saffron . Nikolai Demidov served as chamberlain to the Emperor,

190-472: The exploitation of mines and raising his income to 5 million. At the Nizhny Tagil plant he founded a school in which, in addition to general education subjects, they also taught "the general principles of mechanics and practical mining art." This school, which gave the best craftsmen for the factories of Demidov and others, was transformed into a district school in 1839 and subordinated to the department of

209-579: The fountain was disassembled in 644 pieces. Then, in order to make room for the fountain, several buildings were demolished. However, the fountain arrived incomplete in Palermo. Some sculptures were damaged during the transport, others were maybe kept by Luigi de Toledo (probably the statues of two Divinities preserved in the Bargello Museum of Florence and other statues placed in Naples and then in

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228-475: The garden of Abadia, in the Spanish city of Cáceres ). Therefore, in Palermo, adjustment were made. The work was assembled by Camillo Camilliani , son of Francesco Camilliani. In 1581, Camillo completed the work with the help of Michelangelo Naccherino . Between 18th century and 19th century, the fountain was considered a sort of depiction of the corrupt municipality of Palermo. For this reason and because of

247-418: The government had to send in the receivers. He inherited the iron and coppersmelting plants of Nizhny Tagil, Nizhny Saldinsky, Verkhne-Saldinsky, Tšerno Istochensky, Visimo Utkinsky, Visimo Shaitansky, Laisky and Vyisky and with them also 11,550 serfs (souls). Nikolai entered the diplomatic service and the young couple moved to Paris, becoming ardent supporters of Napoleon I of France and setting up home in

266-459: The latest improvements in terms of technology at his factories, ordered Professor Ferry, then a famous expert in mining, from France, and put him 15,000 rubles a salary a year, a very significant amount for that time. Wishing to train experienced craftsmen for his factories, Demidov, at his own expense, sent more than a hundred serfs abroad to England, Sweden and Austria to study special branches of mining. In 1813 he gave his important collections to

285-538: The mineralogical museum of Moscow founded by his uncle Pavel Grigoryevich to replace those lost in the fire of the city, giving art collections to Moscow University in the same vein. He also financed the construction of four cast iron bridges in Saint Petersburg . With age, he also became a wiser industrialist, modernising his factories' infrastructure and doubling his fortune. He gave his home over to many industries and public utility services, perfecting

304-621: The music video for the song "Diva" by the Italian music group La Rappresentante di Lista . Palazzo di San Clemente Palazzo di San Clemente (also called Palazzo del Pretendente ) is a residential palace in Florence , Italy. Along the current Via Capponi there was a small building visible in the plan of the city from 1584, which was acquired and enlarged by Luigi di Toledo, brother of Grand Duchess Eleanor of Toledo . Late Renaissance art biographer Giorgio Vasari speaks about it in

323-560: The nudity of the statues, the square became known as "Piazza della Vergogna" (Square of Shame). In 1998 the restoration of the fountain started. It was completed in 2003. The fountain represents the Twelve Olympians , other mythological figures, animals and the rivers of Palermo. In 1973, Italian National Postal Service dedicated a postage stamp to the Fontana Pretoria. The fountain and Piazza Pretoria appear in

342-494: The owner of the fountain was Luigi de Toledo (brother of the former Viceroy of Sicily García de Toledo ); Luigi had fallen deep in dept, and on the verge of moving to Naples , sold the fountain to the city of Palermo. In fact, the Senate of Palermo decided to buy the building in front of the square and relocated here the city hall, called Palazzo Pretorio . On 26 May 1574 the fountain arrived in Palermo. In order to transport it,

361-681: Was the legitimist pretender to the thrones of England , Scotland , Ireland and France , the palace is also called Palazzo del Pretendente . Later it went to Simone Velluti Zati, duke of San Clemente, hence the current name. Russian prince Nikolai Demidov was his guest here in 1882. The edifice is a seat of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Florence . 43°46′43.42″N 11°15′48.48″E  /  43.7787278°N 11.2634667°E  / 43.7787278; 11.2634667 This article about an Italian building or structure

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