Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Water Fountains

Bernini: Master Italy's Greatest Water Fountains 72896135.jpg

Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Water Fountains Bernini's earliest fountain, named Barcaccia, is a breath taking work of art seen at the bottom of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will see Roman locals and vacation goers filling this area to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. The streets neighboring his fountain have come to be one of the city’s most stylish gathering places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII commissioned what was to be the very first fountain of the artist's career. Depicted in the fountain's design is a great vessel gradually sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. The great 16th century flooding of the Tevere, which left the entire region inundated with water, was memorialized by the water fountain according to writings from the period. Absenting himself from Italy only once in his life for a long-lasting time period, in 1665 Bernini traveled to France.

Anglo Saxon Gardens During the Norman Conquest

Anglo Saxon Gardens During the Norman Conquest The arrival of the Normans in the 2nd half of the 11th century irreparably improved The Anglo-Saxon lifestyle. The expertise of the Normans exceeded the Anglo-Saxons' in architecture and farming at the time of the conquest. But before concentrating on home-life or having the occasion to think about domestic architecture or decoration, the Normans had to subjugate an entire population. Because of this, castles were cruder buildings than monasteries: Monasteries were usually significant stone buildings located in the biggest and most fecund valleys, while castles were built on windy crests where their inhabitants devoted time and space to tasks for offense and defense. Tranquil pastimes such as gardening were out of place in these desolate citadels. Berkeley Castle is possibly the most intact model in existence today of the early Anglo-Norman form of architecture. The keep is said to date from William the Conqueror's time. An enormous terrace encompasses the building, serving as an impediment to assailants intending to dig under the castle walls. Anglo Saxon Gardens Norman Conquest 9700070615234568139.jpg

Anglo Saxon Gardens Norman Conquest 9700070615234568139.jpg

A picturesque bowling green, covered in grass and bordered by battlements cut out of an ancient yew hedge, makes one of the terraces.

The Dissemination of Water Feature Design Knowledge

The Dissemination of Water Feature Design Knowledge Throughout Europe, the primary means of spreading useful hydraulic facts and fountain design ideas were the published pamphlets and illustrated publications of the time, which added to the evolution of scientific development. An un-named French water fountain engineer was an internationally renowned hydraulic pioneer in the late 1500's. By creating landscapes and grottoes with built-in and ingenious water features, he started off his occupation in Italy by receiving Royal mandates in Brussels, London and Germany. Dissemination Water Feature Design Knowledge 517327629266023332.jpg

Dissemination Water Feature Design Knowledge 517327629266023332.jpg

In France, towards the closure of his lifetime, he penned “The Principle of Moving Forces”, a publication which became the primary text on hydraulic mechanics and engineering. The publication updated key hydraulic discoveries since classical antiquity as well as explaining contemporary hydraulic technologies. Archimedes, the inventor of the water screw, had his work featured and these included a mechanized means to move water. Sunlight heated up the liquid in two hidden vessels adjacent to the beautiful fountain were displayed in an illustration. Activating the water fountain is heated liquid which expands and ascends to seal up the conduits. Garden ponds as well as pumps, water wheels, and water feature creations are incorporated in the book.