Medici Villa La Petraia, courtyard:“Dominance of Tuscany over the sea”, fresco from the cycle of the Fasti Medicei by Volterrano (Baldassarre Franceschini), 1636-1647.The scene is set in Livorno, the Medici port and ideal city refounded by Francesco I de' Medici and his brother Ferdinand I, in the shadow of the monument of the Four Moors, with the statue of Ferdinand crowned by two winged victories. In the centre, in the background, Neptune's chariot proceeds, with Galatea and Perseus (holding Medusa's shield), to which the sea god points the statue. They sail among a large group of galleys of the Order of Saint Stephen.On the right, in front of a cloth held up by putti in the face and under a personification of Fame, we see the allegories of Tuscany (with the crossed shield), of the Grand Duchy (with crown, scepter and mantle with the crest of the Order) and of Livorno, with the castle coat of arms.Detail.
