Rome’s Ingenious Water Transport Systems

With the construction of the first elevated aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, people who lived on the city’s hillsides no longer had to be dependent only on naturally-occurring spring water for their demands. Outside of these aqueducts and springs, wells and rainwater-collecting cisterns were the sole technological innovations obtainable at the time to supply water to segments of high elevation. Starting in the sixteenth century, a newer strategy was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean sections to provide water to Pincian Hill. As originally constructed, the aqueduct was provided along the length of its channel with pozzi (manholes) constructed at regular intervals. The manholes made it more straightforward to thoroughly clean the channel, but it was also achievable to use buckets to extract water from the aqueduct, as we observed with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he operated the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he died. Whilst the cardinal also had a cistern to collect rainwater, it couldn't provide enough water. Through an opening to the aqueduct that flowed under his property, he was in a position to meet his water demands.

The Source of Modern Outdoor Fountains

The Source of Modern Outdoor Fountains Source Modern Outdoor Fountains 94428345332.jpg

Hundreds of ancient Greek texts were translated into Latin under the authority of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. Embellishing Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the heart of his objectives. Starting in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent reconstruction at the bidding of the Pope. Building a mostra, an imposing celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the arrival point of an aqueduct, was a tradition revived by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the area formerly filled with a wall fountain built by Leon Battista Albert, an architect commissioned by the Pope. The aqueduct he had refurbished included modifications and extensions which eventually enabled it to supply water to the Trevi Fountain as well as the famed baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona.

Bernini's First Masterpieces

Bernini's First Masterpieces The Barcaccia, a stunning fountain constructed at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna, was Bernini's earliest water fountain. To this day, this area is filled with Roman locals and travelers alike who enjoy conversation and each other's company. One of the city’s most stylish meeting spots are the streets surrounding Bernini's fountain, which would undoubtedly have brought a smile to the great Bernini. Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII mandated what was to be the earliest fountain of the artist's career. Bernini's First Masterpieces 538850796590974648.jpg

The fountain’s central theme is based on an enormous boat slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. The great 16th century flood of the Tevere, which left the entire region inundated with water, was memorialized by the fountain according to documents from the time. In 1665 Bernini traveled to France, in what was to be his only lengthy absence from Italy.

Did You Know How Technical Concepts of Fountains Became Known?

Did You Know How Technical Concepts of Fountains Became Known? Instrumental to the development of scientific technology were the printed papers and illustrated books of the time. They were also the principal method of transmitting practical hydraulic information and water fountain design suggestions throughout Europe. In the late 1500's, a French water fountain developer (whose name has been lost) was the internationally renowned hydraulics leader. His expertise in designing landscapes and grottoes with incorporated and ingenious water fountains began in Italy and with commissions in Brussels, London and Germany. Know Technical Concepts Fountains Became Known? 5223877577833177.jpg

Know Technical Concepts Fountains Became Known? 5223877577833177.jpg

He authored a publication titled “The Principles of Moving Forces” toward the conclusion of his life while in France which became the fundamental tome on hydraulic mechanics and engineering. Detailing contemporary hydraulic technologies, the publication furthermore modified critical hydraulic breakthroughs of classical antiquity. Prominent among these works were those of Archimedes, the creator of the water screw, a mechanized method of moving water. A pair of hidden containers heated by the sun's rays in an space adjacent to the ornamental fountain were found in an illustration. The end result: the water fountain is activated by the heated liquid expanding and rising up the piping. The publication additionally includes garden ponds, water wheels, water feature concepts.