Bernini’s Very First Italian Water Fountains
Bernini’s Very First Italian Water Fountains One can see Bernini's earliest masterpiece, the Barcaccia fountain, at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, this area is flooded with Roman locals and travelers alike who enjoy debate and each other's company. The streets surrounding his fountain have come to be one of the city’s most stylish meeting places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. In around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII helped Bernini start off his career with the construction of his first water fountain. Depicted in the fountain's design is a large ship gradually sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. Period writings dating back to the 16th century indicate that the fountain was constructed as a monument to those who lost their lives in the great flooding of the Tevere. In what turned out to be his one and only prolonged absence from Italy, Bernini {journeyed | traveled] to France in 1665.The Source of Modern Day Garden Water Fountains
The Source of Modern Day Garden Water Fountains Hundreds of ancient Greek texts were translated into Latin under the auspices 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 instigated the rebuilding of the Aqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away. The ancient Roman custom of building an imposing commemorative fountain at the location where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The present-day site of the Trevi Fountain was formerly occupied by a wall fountain commissioned by the Pope and constructed by the architect Leon Battista Alberti. The Trevi Fountain as well as the renowned baroque fountains located in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the altered aqueduct he had reconstructed.Where did Fountains Come From?
Where did Fountains Come From?
A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to supply drinking water, as well as for decorative purposes. Originally, fountains only served a practical purpose. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to provide drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up until the nineteenth, fountains had to be more elevated and closer to a water source, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to take advantage of gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were an excellent source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and celebrate the designer. The main components used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly illustrating animals or heroes. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. Fountains enjoyed a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exercise his power over nature. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to deliver recycled water into living spaces as well as create special water effects.
Modern-day fountains function mostly as decoration for public spaces, to honor individuals or events, and enhance entertainment and recreational gatherings.
Water Fountain Builders Through History
Water Fountain Builders Through History
Multi-talented individuals, fountain designers from the 16th to the late 18th century frequently functioned as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and highly educated scholars all in one. Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance artist, was notable as an inspired master, inventor and scientific master. He carefully noted his findings in his now famed notebooks, after his immense fascination in the forces of nature guided him to explore the attributes and motion of water. Coupling inventiveness with hydraulic and gardening expertise, early Italian fountain creators modified private villa settings into amazing water exhibits complete with symbolic meaning and natural charm. The magnificence in Tivoli were developed by the humanist Pirro Ligorio, who was celebrated for his capabilities in archeology, engineering and garden design. Well versed in humanistic themes and ancient scientific readings, some other fountain creators were masterminding the extraordinary water marbles, water properties and water pranks for the numerous estates near Florence.