Bernini: The Master of Italy's Most Impressive Water Fountains
Bernini: The Master of Italy's Most Impressive Water Fountains The Barcaccia, Bernini's first fountain, is a magnificent chef d'oeuvre built at the bottom 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. The streets neighboring his fountain have come to be one of the city’s most trendy meeting places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. The master's very first fountain of his professional life was built at around 1630 at the request of Pope Urbano VIII. The fountain’s central theme is based on an enormous ship slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. According to 16th century documents, a great flood of the Tevere covered the entire area in water, an event which was commemorated by the magnificent fountain. In 1665 Bernini traveled to France, in what was to be his only extended absence from Italy.The Origins Of Garden Fountains
The Origins Of Garden Fountains A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for a noteworthy effect.From the beginning, outdoor fountains were simply there to serve as functional elements. Residents of cities, townships and small towns used them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash up, which meant that fountains had to be linked to nearby aqueduct or spring. Up until the nineteenth, fountains had to be more elevated and closer to a water supply, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Designers thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and celebrate the designer responsible for creating it. The main materials used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes.
During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to mimic the gardens of paradise. The fountains found in the Gardens of Versailles were supposed to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to extol their positions by adding beautiful baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
Urban fountains made at the end of the 19th century served only as decorative and celebratory ornaments since indoor plumbing provided the necessary drinking water. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Embellishing city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the uses of modern-day fountains.