The Earliest Documented Public Water Fountains of the Historical Past

The Earliest Documented Public Water Fountains of the Historical Past Towns and communities depended on functional water fountains to channel water for cooking, bathing, and cleaning from local sources like lakes, streams, or creeks. Gravity was the power supply of water fountains up until the conclusion of the 19th century, using the potent power of water traveling down hill from a spring or brook to push the water through valves or other outlets. Inspirational and spectacular, big water fountains have been constructed as monuments in nearly all societies. If you saw the very first fountains, you wouldn't identify them as fountains. Designed for drinking water and ceremonial purposes, the initial fountains were basic carved stone basins. Rock basins as fountains have been found from 2,000 B.C.. The first civilizations that used fountains relied on gravity to push water through spigots. Situated near aqueducts or springs, the practical public water fountains supplied the local population with fresh drinking water. Beasts, Gods, and Spiritual figures dominated the initial ornate Roman fountains, starting to appear in about 6 B.C.. Earliest Documented Public Water Fountains Historical Past 629356359643710026.jpg

Earliest Documented Public Water Fountains Historical Past 629356359643710026.jpg

The people of Rome had an intricate system of aqueducts that supplied the water for the many fountains that were situated throughout the city.

Bernini’s First Italian Water Fountains

Bernini’s First Italian Water Fountains Bernini’s First Italian Water Fountains 28039318555295539.jpg

Bernini's earliest fountain, named Barcaccia, is a breath taking work of art found at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. Roman locals and site seers who appreciate verbal exchanges as well as being the company of others still flood this spot. One of the city’s most stylish gathering spots are the streets surrounding Bernini's fountain, which would undoubtedly have brought a smile to the great Bernini. In about 1630, the great artist built the first fountain of his career at the behest of Pope Ubano VIII. The fountain’s central motif is based on a massive vessel slowly sinking into the Mediterranean. The great 16th century flood of the Tevere, which left the entire region inundated with water, was memorialized by the water fountain according to writings from the time. Absenting himself from Italy only once in his life for a prolonged time period, in 1665 Bernini voyaged to France.

From Where Did Water Features Emerge?

From Where Did Water Features Emerge? Hundreds of classic Greek documents were translated into Latin under the auspices of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. In order to make Rome worthy of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope decided to enhance the beauty of the city. In 1453 the Pope instigated the repairing of the Aqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct which had carried fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away. Building a mostra, a grandiose commemorative fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the arrival point of an aqueduct, was a tradition revived by Nicholas V. At the behest of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti began the construction of a wall fountain in the place where we now find the Trevi Fountain. The aqueduct he had refurbished included modifications and extensions which eventually allowed it to supply water to the Trevi Fountain as well as the famed baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona.