The Original Garden Fountains of Human History

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The Original Garden Fountains of Human History Towns and villages relied on practical water fountains to conduct water for preparing food, washing, and cleaning from nearby sources like lakes, streams, or creeks. A supply of water higher in elevation than the fountain was needed to pressurize the movement and send water spraying from the fountain's spout, a system without equal until the late nineteenth century. Striking and spectacular, big water fountains have been crafted as monuments in nearly all cultures. When you enjoy a fountain today, that is certainly not what the 1st water fountains looked like. A stone basin, carved from rock, was the first fountain, utilized for containing water for drinking and religious purposes. 2,000 B.C. is when the oldest known stone fountain basins were used. Gravity was the energy source that operated the initial water fountains. Drinking water was provided by public fountains, long before fountains became decorative public monuments, as striking as they are functional. The Romans began building ornate fountains in 6 BC, most of which were metallic or stone masks of creatures and mythological characters. A well-engineered collection of reservoirs and aqueducts kept Rome's public fountains supplied with fresh water.

Bernini's Earliest Showpieces

Bernini's earliest water fountain, named Barcaccia, is a masterful work of art seen at the bottom of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will see Roman residents and vacation goers filling this spot to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. The streets neighboring his water fountain have come to be one of the city’s most fashionable gathering places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. The master's first water fountain of his career was built at around 1630 at the behest of Pope Urbano VIII. Depicted in the fountain's design is a great ship gradually sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. According to 16th century reports, a great flood of the Tevere covered the entire area in water, an event which was commemorated by the tremendous fountain. Absenting himself from Italy only once in his life for a lengthy period of time, in 1665 Bernini voyaged to France.

Acqua Vergine: The Solution to Rome's Water Challenges

Acqua Vergine: The Solution to Rome's Water Challenges Previous to 273, when the 1st elevated aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was constructed in Rome, citizens who lived on hillsides had to travel further down to gather their water from natural sources. Outside of these aqueducts and springs, wells and rainwater-collecting cisterns were the lone technological innovations readily available at the time to supply water to segments of high elevation. From the beginning of the sixteenth century, water was routed to Pincian Hill by way of the underground channel of Acqua Vergine. As originally constructed, the aqueduct was provided along the length of its channel with pozzi (manholes) constructed at regular intervals. The manholes made it less demanding to maintain the channel, but it was also achievable to use buckets to extract water from the aqueduct, as we witnessed with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he operated the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he died. Though the cardinal also had a cistern to amass rainwater, it couldn't supply a sufficient amount of water. Acqua Vergine: Solution Rome's Water Challenges 35910108438411282.jpg

Acqua Vergine: Solution Rome's Water Challenges 35910108438411282.jpg

That is when he made the decision to create an access point to the aqueduct that ran directly below his residential property.