Rome’s First Water Transport Systems
Rome’s First Water Transport Systems Aqua Anio Vetus, the first raised aqueduct built in Rome, started off supplying the people living in the hills with water in 273 BC, although they had counted on natural springs up till then. During this period, there were only 2 other technologies capable of offering water to elevated areas, subterranean wells and cisterns, which gathered rainwater.
Beginning in the sixteenth century, a newer approach was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean sections to supply water to Pincian Hill. During its initial building and construction, pozzi (or manholes) were situated at set intervals along the aqueduct’s channel. The manholes made it less demanding to clean the channel, but it was also possible to use buckets to extract water from the aqueduct, as we viewed with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he possessed the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he died. It appears that, the rainwater cistern on his property wasn’t enough to fulfill his needs. That is when he decided to create an access point to the aqueduct that ran under his residential property.
Where did Fountains Begin?
Where did Fountains Begin? A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for an extraordinary effect.From the onset, outdoor fountains were simply meant to serve as functional elements.
People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the vicinity. Used until the nineteenth century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their origin of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from gravity. Fountains were not only used as a water source for drinking water, but also to decorate homes and celebrate the artist who created it. Bronze or stone masks of wildlife and heroes were frequently seen on Roman fountains. To replicate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. King Louis XIV of France wanted to illustrate his superiority over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. To mark the entrance of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the construction of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts entered the city of Rome
Indoor plumbing became the key source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Gravity was substituted by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for amazing water displays.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
Gian Bernini's Public Fountains
Gian Bernini's Public Fountains There are numerous renowned water features in the city center of Rome. Almost all of them were planned, conceived and constructed by one of the greatest sculptors and artists of the 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. He was furthermore a city architect, in addition to his abilities as a fountain designer, and traces of his life's work are apparent throughout the avenues of Rome. Eventually transferring to Rome to fully reveal their artwork, primarily in the shape of community water fountains, Bernini’s father, a distinguished Florentine sculptor, mentored his young son.
The juvenile Bernini was an great worker and attained encouragement and backing of important artists as well as popes. At the start he was celebrated for his sculptural expertise. He used his knowledge and melded it gracefully with Roman marble, most significantly in the Vatican. Although a variety of artists impacted his artistic endeavors, Michelangelo influenced him the most.