Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Fountains

Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Fountains Bernini's earliest fountain, named Barcaccia, is a masterful work of art seen at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. This spot is still filled with Roman locals and tourists who like to exchanging gossip or going over the day's news. The streets neighboring his water fountain have come to be one of the city’s most trendy meeting places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. In about 1630, the great master designed the very first fountain of his career at the behest of Pope Ubano VIII. Illustrated in the fountain's design is a great vessel gradually sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. The great flooding of the Tevere that covered the whole region with water in the 16th was commemorated by this momentous fountain as recorded by documents dating back to this period. In 1665 Bernini journeyed to France, in what was to be his sole prolonged absence from Italy.

Aqueducts: The Answer to Rome's Water Problems

Aqueducts: The Answer to Rome's Water Problems Previous to 273, when the 1st elevated aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was made in Roma, citizens who resided on hillsides had to journey even further down to collect their water from natural sources. Outside of these aqueducts and springs, wells and rainwater-collecting cisterns were the lone technological innovations obtainable at the time to supply water to segments of greater elevation. Starting in the sixteenth century, a unique strategy was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean sectors to generate water to Pincian Hill. The aqueduct’s channel was made attainable by pozzi, or manholes, that were added along its length when it was initially built. Whilst these manholes were created to make it less difficult to preserve the aqueduct, it was also feasible to use buckets to pull water from the channel, which was done by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he purchased the property in 1543 to his passing in 1552. Aqueducts: Answer Rome's Water Problems 10349948483528.jpg

Aqueducts: Answer Rome's Water Problems 10349948483528.jpg

Reportedly, the rainwater cistern on his property wasn’t sufficient to satisfy his needs. Via an opening to the aqueduct that flowed below his property, he was able to suit his water demands.