Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Greatest Fountains
Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Greatest Fountains One can see Bernini's very first masterpiece, the Barcaccia fountain, at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will find Roman residents and vacation goers occupying this spot to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. One of the city’s most stylish meeting places are the streets surrounding Bernini's fountain, which would certainly have brought a smile to the great Bernini. In around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII helped Bernini start off his career with the construction of his very first fountain.
The fountain’s central motif is based on an enormous boat slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. The great flooding of the Tevere that blanketed the whole region with water in the 16th was commemorated by this momentous fountain as recorded by reports dating back to this time. In what became his only extended absence from Italy, Bernini {journeyed | traveled] to France in 1665.
The Source of Today's Fountains
The Source of Today's Fountains The translation of hundreds of ancient Greek texts into Latin was commissioned by the scholarly Pope Nicholas V who led the Church in Rome from 1397 till 1455.
In order to make Rome deserving of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope resolved to enhance the beauty of the city. In 1453 the Pope instigated the reconstruction of the Aqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away. A mostra, a monumental celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to mark the point of arrival of an aqueduct, was a practice which was revived by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was directed by the Pope to put up a wall fountain where we now find the Trevi Fountain. The aqueduct he had reconditioned included modifications and extensions which eventually enabled it to supply water to the Trevi Fountain as well as the famed baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona.
Although they come in alternative materials, today’s garden fountains tend to be made of metal.Metals tend to yield clean lines and unique sculptural accents and can fit almost any design theme or budget....
read more
A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for an extraordinary effect....
read more
The Barcaccia, Bernini's first fountain, is a magnificent 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 enjoy exchanging gossip or going over the day's news....
read more
Having a wall fountain in your backyard or on a terrace is great when you wish to relax.Even a small space can contain a custom-made one.Both the stand alone and fitted types must have a spout, a water basin, internal tubing, and a pump....
read more