The Palazzo Doria was enlarged and remodelled by Fra Giovanni 

 Angelo Montorsoli. It is set back but a short distance from the sea 

 shore, and is raised upon a narrow terrace, with the parterre lying on the 

 level space beneath. A simple but graceful loggia, or open gallery, stretches 

 the whole length of the garden facade, and was evidently designed to 

 receive decoration in colour. The flat roof of this loggia forms a balcony 

 or terrace, beyond which project two colonnades dividing the terrace 

 into three courts or gardens. Very charming fountains of marble occupy 

 the two outer divisions. In the court, which was formerly the orange 

 garden, is a singularly graceful fountain of marble which shows 

 unmistakably the hand of Montorsoli himself It stands upon a square 

 platform raised above the garden, and is approached from each side by 

 steps ; at the four corners circular balconies project, and balustrades 

 surround these as well as the fountain basin. Above the balustrade 

 appears the central group, a triton riding upon a dolphin from whose 

 jaws a stream of water issues. 



In reference to this group Keysler, writing about the year 1730, 

 says : " On the left of the entrance into the gardens, in a fountain, is to 

 be seen the image of a monster, in its fore part resembling a satyr, with 

 two little horns, but in its hind part it has a double fish's tail erect, and 

 is said to have been taken alive." 



The marble balustrade that guards the verge of this terrace is 

 interrupted opposite the principal portal, where a gentle slope, paved 

 with pebble-mosaic, leads right and left to the parterre. Of the original 

 arrangement little now remains, and the parterre of clipped box has been 

 replaced by an aimless medley of trees and shrubs, quite out of character 

 with the delightful architectural setting. The principal feature is still 

 Taddeo Carlone's Fountain of Neptune, erected about the year 1600 ; it 

 is on a grand scale, the outer basin measuring about fifty feet by thirty- 

 five, but does not compare favourably with the earlier and less ornate 

 fountain in the old orange garden. Raised above it is a second basin, 

 within which is the car of Neptune, drawn by sea-horses and 

 accompanied by numerous baby tritons : a cold and hard piece of work, 

 the white marble of which it is composed emphasising the feebleness of 

 the design. Above the parterre along the sea-front is a marble-paved 



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