Rome’s First Water Delivery Systems

Rome’s First Water Delivery Systems Aqua Anio Vetus, the first raised aqueduct built in Rome, started out supplying the many people living in the hills with water in 273 BC, although they had counted on natural springs up until then. When aqueducts or springs weren’t easily accessible, people dwelling at raised elevations turned to water pulled from underground or rainwater, which was made available by wells and cisterns. Starting in the sixteenth century, a unique program was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean portions to generate water to Pincian Hill. All through the length of the aqueduct’s route were pozzi, or manholes, that gave access. Whilst these manholes were developed to make it simpler and easier to maintain the aqueduct, it was also feasible to use buckets to remove water from the channel, which was carried out by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he acquired the property in 1543 to his passing in 1552. The cistern he had built to collect rainwater wasn’t sufficient to meet his water requirements. Fortunately, the aqueduct sat under his residence, and he had a shaft opened to give him access.

The Beginnings of Contemporary Wall Fountains

The Beginnings of Contemporary Wall Fountains Pope Nicholas V, himself a well educated man, reigned the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455 during which time he commissioned many translations of ancient classic Greek texts into Latin. Beautifying Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the core of his ambitions. In 1453 the Pope instigated the repairing of the Aqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct which had carried fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away. Building a mostra, an imposing celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the entry point of an aqueduct, was a tradition revived by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was commissioned by the Pope to build a wall fountain where we now see the Trevi Fountain. Adjustments and extensions, included in the repaired aqueduct, eventually supplied the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.

Aspects of Outdoor Statuary in Archaic Greece

Aspects of Outdoor Statuary in Archaic Greece The first freestanding statuary was designed by the Archaic Greeks, a distinguished success since until then the sole carvings in existence were reliefs cut into walls and pillars. For the most part the statues, or kouros figures, were of adolescent and attractive male or female (kore) Greeks. Representing beauty to the Greeks, the kouroi were made to look rigid and typically had foot in front; the males were vigorous, powerful, and naked. In 650 BC, life-sized versions of the kouroi began to be seen. The Archaic period was an amazing point of transformation for the Greeks as they extended into new forms of government, produced novel expressions of art, and attained insights of the people and cultures outside of Greece. During this time and other times of historic tumult, clashes often took place, including wars fought amongst city-states such as the Arcadian wars and the Spartan invasion of Samos.