The Fountain of Neptune is located at the Plaza Canovas del Castillo along the Paseo del Prado. King Carlos III ordered its construction and it was designed by the architect Ventura Rodriguez. The sculptor Juan Pascual de Mena started it in 1780 and in 1786 his disciple Jose Rodriguez finished the project. This fountain tried to symbolize the maritime power that Spain had in previous times, a power that the Bourbon king wanted to recover with the reform of the Spanish navy.