Builders of the First Water Fountains

Builders of the First Water Fountains Multi-talented people, fountain artists from the 16th to the late 18th century typically worked as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one person. Leonardo da Vinci as a creative master, inventor and scientific expert exemplified this Renaissance artist. He systematically noted his findings in his now famed notebooks, following his immense interest in the forces of nature guided him to investigate the characteristics and movement of water. Remodeling private villa configurations into amazing water showcases full of symbolic meaning and natural wonder, early Italian water feature engineers fused resourcefulness with hydraulic and horticultural abilities. The humanist Pirro Ligorio offered the vision behind the wonders in Tivoli and was celebrated for his virtuosity in archeology, architecture and garden design. Masterminding the excellent water marbles, water features and water antics for the numerous properties near Florence, other fountain engineers were well versed in humanist issues as well as time-honored technical texts.

Rome’s Early Water Delivery Solutions

Rome’s Early Water Delivery Solutions Previous to 273, when the 1st elevated aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was made in Roma, citizens who lived on hillsides had to go even further down to get their water from natural sources. Outside of these aqueducts and springs, wells and rainwater-collecting cisterns were the lone technological innovations around at the time to supply water to locations of greater elevation. From the early sixteenth century, water was routed to Pincian Hill by way of the subterranean channel of Acqua Vergine. Throughout the length of the aqueduct’s route were pozzi, or manholes, that gave entry. 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 saw with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he bought the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he died. Apparently, the rainwater cistern on his property wasn’t sufficient to fulfill his needs. Thankfully, the aqueduct sat below his residence, and he had a shaft opened to give him access.