The Magificent First Wonders by Bernini
The Magificent First 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 fountain. To this day, this spot is flooded with Roman locals and travelers alike who enjoy debate and each other's company. Today, the city streets surrounding Bernini's water fountain are a trendy area where people go to meet, something which the artist would have been pleased to learn. In about 1630, the great master designed the first water fountain of his career at the behest of Pope Ubano VIII. An enormous boat slowly sinking into the Mediterranean is the fountain's central theme. The great 16th century flooding of the Tevere, which left the entire region inundated with water, was memorialized by the water fountain according to documents from the period. In 1665 Bernini traveled to France, in what was to be his sole prolonged absence from Italy.
Where did Large Garden Fountains Come From?
Where did Large Garden 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 provide drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes. The central purpose of a fountain was originally strictly functional. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs nearby. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains functioned using gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a supply of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Fountains were an optimal source of water, and also served to adorn living areas and memorialize the designer. Bronze or stone masks of animals and heroes were frequently seen on Roman fountains. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to illustrate 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.
Indoor plumbing became the main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity allowed fountains to deliver recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Modern fountains are used to embellish public spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.
Builders of the First Outside Garden Fountains
Builders of the First Outside Garden Fountains
Water feature designers were multi-talented people from the 16th to the later part of the 18th century, often working as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one person. Exemplifying the Renaissance artist as a creative genius, Leonardo da Vinci worked as an innovator and scientific expert. With his immense curiosity about the forces of nature, he explored the properties and movement of water and carefully annotated his findings in his now recognized notebooks. Early Italian water feature engineers converted private villa configurations into inspiring water displays full with symbolic meaning and natural beauty by combining imagination with hydraulic and horticultural expertise. The humanist Pirro Ligorio supplied the vision behind the splendors in Tivoli and was renowned for his abilities in archeology, architecture and garden design. Other water feature designers, masterminding the extraordinary water marbles, water attributes and water antics for the countless mansions near Florence, were tried and tested in humanist subject areas and traditional scientific readings.