I bring you back to something very familiar. I have written many posts in my blog about my previous glorious town of Versailles; the choices are a lot more than the palace, indeed , I need to say the Palace/museum of Versailles is worth a kingdom and many things to see that require more than two days to see it all . My nostalgic Versailles is the préfecture capital city of the department 78 Yvelines, in the Île de France region of my belle France.
I like to come back to tell you a bit more on an important element of the Domaine of Versailles, the Bassin de Latone basin. Hope you enjoy the post as I.
It is by advancing far into the water parterre, the first coming from the Palace/museum of Versailles, that this large Bassin de Latone basin is revealed. It is indeed located in the second parterre when walking towards the Grand Canal. Located in the center of the parterre, the Latona Fountain features a number of gilded bronze figures, surrounding a large pyramid. In the middle, at the top of a pyramid, a group of sculptures is displayed: Latona and her children, Apollo and Diana, Latona begs for justice from Jupiter and seeks to escape, protecting her children. Indeed, she reproached the peasants of Lycia for not having assisted her, at this moment when she had to face the wrath of Minerva, deceived wife of Jupiter. The master of the gods then decides to transform them into frogs. This is how we can see this transformation in the gilded bronzes surrounding the basin, as well as in the other basins of the parterre. All around the basin, 174 frogs, lizards, turtles, but also the peasants whose metamorphosis is in progress, throwing their jets of water towards the goddess. The Latona Fountain lies in the Latona Basin. On the top tier, there is a statue of the goddess Latona, mother of the sun and moon gods. The fountain was begun in 1670 by André Le Nôtre, then enlarged and modified by Jules Hadouin-Mansart in 1686 The theme of the Latona Fountain is taken from the myth of Latona (the Roman incarnation of the Greek goddess Leto), as vividly told in Book VI of the Metamorphoses of Ovid. Latona bore the gods Apollo and Diana by Zeus,
The mother of Apollo, the Greek god associated with the sun, Latona brings unity to the garden. However, with a few drops of water, she had to silence the reproaches of men transformed into frogs. Thus, royalty triumphs over the Fronde. The garden of Versailles is oriented towards the west and the setting sun. Also, it must bring to the Grand Canal and the basin of the chariot of Apollo, the god associated with the sun. Also, Latona’s pool shows her mother, in a moment of difficulty but triumphant over her enemies thanks to the divine intervention of Jupiter. She walks west, closing in on her son in glowing position. Note that Latona protects little Diana in her skirt. It is indeed necessary to protect it, it whose emblem is the moon in the domain of the sun. The four tiers are covered in 230 pieces of marble, composed of the white and grey-veined Cararra, greenish marble from Campan, and red marble from Languedoc.
The Château de Versailles on the Bassin de Latone :http://latone.chateauversailles.fr/page/le-bassin-de-latone/histoire-du-bassin
The official Château de Versailles on the Grandes Eaux Musicales or music gardens show https://en.chateauversailles-spectacles.fr/programmation/the-musical-gardens-show_e2758
The magazine of the Château de Versailles :http://www.lescarnetsdeversailles.fr/category/patrimoine/
There you go folks, it is a wonderful basin, and we have many souvenirs of walking by it. The Bassin de Latone basin is one of the hightlights of the gardens at the Domaine de Versailles. Again, hope you enjoy it as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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