Bernini’s Early Italian Water Fountains

Bernini’s Early Italian Water Fountains The Barcaccia, Bernini's very first water fountain, is a magnificent chef d'oeuvre built at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will find Roman locals and vacation goers filling this space to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. Bernini would undoubtedly have been happy to know that people still flock to what has become one the city's most fashionable areas, that around his amazing water fountain. In around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII helped Bernini start off his professional life with the construction of his very first water fountain. Depicted in the fountain's design is a large ship 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. Absenting himself from Italy only once in his life for a lengthy time period, in 1665 Bernini traveled to France.

A Concise History of the Early Public Water Fountains

A Concise History of the Early Public Water Fountains Concise History Early Public Water Fountains 808606565868384.jpg

As originally conceived, water fountains were designed to be functional, directing water from streams or aqueducts to the citizens of towns and settlements, where the water could be utilized for cooking, washing, and drinking. A supply of water higher in elevation than the fountain was necessary to pressurize the movement and send water spraying from the fountain's nozzle, a system without equal until the later part of the 19th century. Fountains all through history have been designed as memorials, impressing hometown citizens and visitors alike. The common fountains of today bear little similarity to the first water fountains. A stone basin, crafted from rock, was the 1st fountain, utilized for holding water for drinking and spiritual functions. Rock basins as fountains have been found from 2000 BC. The first civilizations that made use of fountains relied on gravity to push water through spigots. These historic fountains were created to be functional, often situated along aqueducts, creeks and rivers to furnish drinking water. Fountains with embellished Gods, mythological monsters, and animals began to show up in Rome in about 6 B.C., made from rock and bronze. The extraordinary aqueducts of Rome provided water to the spectacular public fountains, most of which you can visit today.