The Magificent Early Wonders by Bernini

The Magificent Early Wonders by Bernini One can see Bernini's very first masterpiece, the Barcaccia water fountain, at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will find Roman locals and vacation goers filling this spot to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. Today, the city streets surrounding Bernini's water fountain are a trendy area where people go to gather, something which the artist would have been pleased to learn. In around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII helped Bernini start off his career with the construction of his first water fountain. The fountain’s central theme is based on an enormous vessel slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. Period reports dating back to the 16th century indicate that the fountain was constructed as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the great flooding of the Tevere. In what became his sole extended absence from Italy, Bernini {journeyed | traveled] to France in 1665.

When and Where Did Water Features Originate?

When and Where Did Water Features Originate? Pope Nicholas V, himself a learned man, ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455 during which time he commissioned many translations of ancient classical Greek documents into Latin. It was imperative for him to embellish the city of Rome to make it worthy of being called the capital of the Christian world. Restoration of the Acqua Vergine, a desolate Roman aqueduct which had carried fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away, began in 1453 at the behest of the Pope. The ancient Roman custom of building an awe-inspiring commemorative fountain at the location where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. At the bidding of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti undertook the construction of a wall fountain in the spot where we now find the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain as well as the well-known baroque fountains located in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the altered aqueduct he had rebuilt.