Bernini's First Masterpieces

Bernini's First Masterpieces Bernini's earliest fountain, named Barcaccia, is a breath taking work of art seen at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. Bernini's First Masterpieces 7813971146289659228.jpg

Roman residents and site seers who enjoy conversation as well as being the company of others still flood this spot. Bernini would without a doubt 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. Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII commissioned what was to be the very first water fountain of the artist's career. Depicted in the fountain's design is a large vessel slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. Period reports dating back to the 16th century show 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 period of time, in 1665 Bernini traveled to France.

The Dissemination of Fountain Design Technology

The Dissemination of Fountain Design Technology The circulated documents and illustrated pamphlets of the day contributed to the advancements of scientific innovation, and were the chief methods of spreading practical hydraulic facts and water feature ideas all through Europe. A globally renowned leader in hydraulics in the later part of the 1500's was a French fountain designer, whose name has been lost to history. His experience in designing landscapes and grottoes with integrated and imaginative water fountains began in Italy and with mandates in Brussels, London and Germany. The publication, “The Principles of Moving Forces,” penned near the end of his lifetime in France, turned into the definitive writing on hydraulic mechanics and engineering. The publication updated important hydraulic breakthroughs since classical antiquity as well as detailing modern hydraulic technologies. Archimedes, the developer of the water screw, had his work showcased and these integrated a mechanized means to move water. Two undetectable vessels warmed by the sun's rays in a room adjacent to the ornamental fountain were shown in an illustration. The end result: the fountain is stimulated by the heated liquid expanding and rising up the pipelines. Designs for pumps, water wheels, water attributes and outdoor ponds are also covered in the book.