The First Contemporary Wall Fountains
The First Contemporary Wall Fountains Hundreds of ancient Greek texts were translated into Latin under the auspices of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. Beautifying Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the center of his ambitions. Restoration of the Acqua Vergine, a desolate Roman aqueduct which had transported fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away, began in 1453 at the bidding of the Pope. The historical Roman tradition of marking the arrival point of an aqueduct with an imposing celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The present-day site of the Trevi Fountain was previously occupied by a wall fountain commissioned by the Pope and built by the architect Leon Battista Alberti. The Trevi Fountain as well as the well-known baroque fountains found in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the altered aqueduct he had reconstructed.The Magificent Early Wonders by Bernini
The Magificent Early Wonders by Bernini The Barcaccia, a stunning fountain constructed at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna, was Bernini's earliest water fountain. To this day, this area is flooded with Roman locals and travelers alike who enjoy debate and each other's company.
Where did Landscape Fountains Begin?
Where did Landscape Fountains Begin? The incredible construction of a fountain allows it to provide clean water or shoot water high into air for dramatic effect and it can also serve as an excellent design feature to enhance your home.Originally, fountains only served a functional purpose. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with drinking water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Used until the 19th century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their source of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from gravity. Fountains were an excellent source of water, and also served to adorn living areas and memorialize the designer. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often utilized by Romans to decorate their 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 demonstrate his superiority over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
The end of the 19th century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity enabled fountains to provide recycled water into living spaces as well as create special water effects.
Embellishing city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
Greece: Architectural Sculpture
Greece: Architectural Sculpture Even though many sculptors were compensated by the temples to embellish the elaborate columns and archways with renderings of the gods, as the period came to a close, it became more common for sculptors to represent average people as well because plenty of Greeks had started to think of their religion as superstitious rather than sacred. Portraiture, which would be acknowledged by the Romans upon their annexation of Greek society became traditional as well, and thriving families would sometimes commission a rendering of their forebears to be situated in enormous familial tombs.