Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Fountains
Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Fountains
The Barcaccia, Bernini's very first water fountain, is a magnificent chef d'oeuvre built at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will see Roman residents and vacation goers occupying this spot to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. Today, the city streets around Bernini's fountain are a trendy area where people go to meet, something which the artist would have been pleased to learn. In around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII helped Bernini launch his career with the construction of his first water fountain. A massive boat slowly sinking into the Mediterranean is the fountain's central theme. According to 16th century reports, a great flood of the Tevere covered the entire area in water, an event which was memorialized by the tremendous fountain. In 1665, France was graced by Bernini's only lengthy trip outside of Italy.
How Technical Designs of Fountains Spread
How Technical Designs of Fountains Spread Throughout the European countries, the primary means of spreading practical hydraulic information and fountain design suggestions were the published papers and illustrated books of the time, which contributed to the development of scientific innovation. In the late 1500's, a French water fountain architect (whose name has been lost) was the internationally distinguished hydraulics pioneer. By creating landscapes and grottoes with integrated and ingenious water features, he started off his career in Italy by earning Royal commissions in Brussels, London and Germany. He penned a book entitled “The Principles of Moving Forces” toward the conclusion of his life while in France which became the fundamental book on hydraulic technology and engineering. The publication updated important hydraulic advancements since classical antiquity as well as describing contemporary hydraulic technologies. As a mechanized means to move water, Archimedes made the water screw, key among key hydraulic discoveries.
Natural light warmed the water in a pair of hidden containers adjoining to the ornamental fountain were shown in an illustration. The end result: the fountain is triggered by the hot liquid expanding and ascending up the pipes. Garden ponds as well as pumps, water wheels, and water feature styles are included in the book.
Outdoor Garden Fountains: The Perfect Decor Accessory to Find Serenity
Outdoor Garden Fountains: The Perfect Decor Accessory to Find Serenity Your mood is favorably influenced by having water in your garden. The sounds of a fountain are great to block out the noise in your neighborhood or in the city where you reside. This is a place where you can entertain yourself and experience nature. Considered a great rehabilitation element, many water therapies use big bodies of water such as seas, oceans and rivers in their treatments.
So if you desire a little piece of heaven nearby, a pond or fountain in your own garden is the answer.
Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Come From?
Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Come From? The amazing or decorative effect of a fountain is just one of the purposes it fulfills, as well as supplying drinking water and adding a decorative touch to your property. Originally, fountains only served a functional purpose. Residents of urban areas, townships and small towns utilized them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash, which meant that fountains had to be connected to nearby aqueduct or spring. Up until the nineteenth, fountains had to be more elevated and closer to a water supply, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to take advantage of gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were not only used as a water source for drinking water, but also to adorn homes and celebrate the designer who created it. The main materials used by the Romans to build their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. Muslims and Moorish garden designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. The fountains found in the Gardens of Versailles were intended to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Since indoor plumbing became the norm of the day for fresh, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely decorative. The introduction of special water effects and the recycling of water were two things made possible by swapping gravity with mechanical pumps.
Contemporary fountains are used to adorn community spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.