Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Most Impressive Fountains
Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Most Impressive Fountains The Barcaccia, Bernini's very first water fountain, is a striking chef d'oeuvre built at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna.
This spot continues to be filled with Roman locals and visitors who like to exchanging gossip or going over the day's news. Today, the city streets around Bernini's fountain are a trendy place where people go to gather, something which the artist would have been pleased to learn. In around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII helped Bernini start off his career with the construction of his very first water fountain. A massive ship slowly sinking into the Mediterranean is the fountain's main theme. According to 16th century documents, a great flood of the Tevere covered the entire area in water, an event which was memorialized by the tremendous fountain. In 1665 Bernini traveled to France, in what was to be his sole prolonged absence from Italy.
Outdoor Water Fountains Lost to History
Outdoor Water Fountains Lost to History The water from springs and other sources was originally provided to the occupants of nearby towns and cities through water fountains, whose design was largely practical, not aesthetic. Gravity was the power source of water fountains up until the close of the 19th century, using the potent power of water traveling down hill from a spring or creek to squeeze the water through spigots or other outlets. The splendor and spectacle of fountains make them appropriate for traditional monuments. If you saw the earliest fountains, you would not identify them as fountains. Simple stone basins crafted from nearby material were the original fountains, used for spiritual functions and drinking water. 2,000 B.C. is when the oldest known stone fountain basins were originally used. The very first civilizations that used fountains relied on gravity to drive water through spigots. Situated near aqueducts or creeks, the practical public water fountains furnished the local citizens with fresh drinking water. Fountains with flowery decoration started to show up in Rome in approx. 6 B.C., normally gods and creatures, made with natural stone or bronze. Water for the community fountains of Rome was brought to the city via a complicated system of water aqueducts.
The Beginnings of Contemporary Outdoor Wall Fountains
The Beginnings of Contemporary Outdoor Wall Fountains Hundreds of classic Greek records were translated into Latin under the authority of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. It was imperative for him to beautify the city of Rome to make it worthy of being known as the capital of the Christian world.
In 1453 the Pope commissioned the reconstruction of the Aqua Vergine, an historic Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away. A mostra, a monumental commemorative fountain built by ancient Romans to mark the point of entry of an aqueduct, was a practice which was revived by Nicholas V. The present-day location of the Trevi Fountain was previously occupied by a wall fountain commissioned by the Pope and built by the architect Leon Battista Alberti. The aqueduct he had reconditioned included modifications and extensions which eventually allowed it to supply water to the Trevi Fountain as well as the famed baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona.
A Smaller Garden Space? Don't Fret! You Can Still Have a Water Feature
A Smaller Garden Space? Don't Fret! You Can Still Have a Water Feature Since water is reflective, it has the effect of making a small space appear larger than it is. In order to achieve the optimum reflective properties of a water element or fountain, it is best to use dark materials.
Night time is a great time to draw attention to the illuminated, colored underwater lights in your new water feature. profit from the sun’s rays by using eco-lights during the day and underwater lighting fixtures during the night. Alleviating stress and anxiety with their relaxing sounds are some of the applications in nature medicine. Your outdoor vegetation is a fantastic area to incorporate in your water feature. Ponds, artificial rivers, or fountains are just some of the ways you can you can make it become the focal feature on your property. Water features make great add ons to both large gardens or small patios. The best way to improve the ambience, position it in a good place and use the right accompaniments.