Acqua Vergine: The Answer to Rome's Water Challenges
Acqua Vergine: The Answer to Rome's Water Challenges
With the development of the 1st elevated aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, people who lived on the city’s foothills no longer had to rely entirely on naturally-occurring spring water for their requirements. If residents living at higher elevations did not have access to springs or the aqueduct, they’d have to count on the other existing solutions of the day, cisterns that gathered rainwater from the sky and subterranean wells that drew the water from under ground. Starting in the sixteenth century, a new system was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean segments to deliver water to Pincian Hill. The aqueduct’s channel was made accessible by pozzi, or manholes, that were positioned along its length when it was initially created. Whilst these manholes were developed to make it simpler and easier to maintain the aqueduct, it was also possible to use buckets to remove water from the channel, which was employed by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he invested in the property in 1543 to his passing in 1552. Whilst the cardinal also had a cistern to amass rainwater, it couldn't provide sufficient water. By using an orifice to the aqueduct that ran under his property, he was set to fulfill his water wants.
Modern Garden Decor: Garden Fountains and their Beginnings
Modern Garden Decor: Garden Fountains and their Beginnings The dramatic or ornamental effect of a fountain is just one of the purposes it fulfills, in addition to providing drinking water and adding a decorative touch to your property.
Originally, fountains only served a practical purpose. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to supply drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Used until the 19th century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their source of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from the power of gravity. Fountains were not only utilized as a water source for drinking water, but also to decorate homes and celebrate the artist who created it. The main components used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to mimic the gardens of paradise. The fountains seen in the Gardens of Versailles were supposed to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Since indoor plumbing became the norm of the day for clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental. The introduction of special water effects and the recycling of water were 2 things made possible by swapping gravity with mechanical pumps.
Modern fountains are used to adorn public spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.
The Source of Modern Outdoor Garden Fountains
The Source of Modern Outdoor Garden Fountains Hundreds of ancient Greek texts were translated into Latin under the auspices of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. He undertook the embellishment of Rome to turn it into the worthy seat of the Christian world. Beginning in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent reconstruction at the bidding of the Pope. Building a mostra, an imposing commemorative fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the entry point of an aqueduct, was a tradition revived by Nicholas V.
The Trevi Fountain now occupies the area previously filled with a wall fountain crafted by Leon Battista Albert, an architect commissioned by the Pope. Adjustments and extensions, included in the repaired aqueduct, eventually provided the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.
Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Greatest Water Fountains
Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Greatest Water Fountains Bernini's earliest fountain, named Barcaccia, is a breath taking work of art found at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will see Roman locals and vacation goers filling this spot to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. Today, the city streets surrounding Bernini's fountain are a trendy area where people go to meet, something which the artist would have been pleased to learn. Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII commissioned what was to be the earliest fountain of the master's career. People can now see the fountain as a depiction of a commanding ship slowly sinking into the Mediterranean.
According to 16th century texts, a great flood of the Tevere covered the entire area in water, an event which was memorialized by the tremendous fountain. In 1665 Bernini journeyed to France, in what was to be his sole extended absence from Italy.