The City Of Rome, Gian Bernini, And Garden Fountains

The City Of Rome, Gian Bernini, And Garden Fountains There are countless renowned water features in Rome’s city center. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the most brilliant sculptors and artists of the 17th century planned, conceived and built almost all of them. He was furthermore a city architect, in addition to his abilities as a water feature engineer, and traces of his life's work are noticeable throughout the streets of Rome. City Rome, Gian Bernini, Garden Fountains 67733770.jpg

City Rome, Gian Bernini, Garden Fountains 67733770.jpg

Eventually moving to Rome to fully express their artwork, primarily in the shape of community water features, Bernini’s father, a renowned Florentine sculptor, guided his young son. An excellent employee, the young Bernini earned praise and the backing of many popes and influential designers. At first he was celebrated for his sculpting skills. An authority in classic Greek engineering, he utilized this knowledge as a foundation and melded it seamlessly with Roman marble, most famously in the Vatican. He was affected by many great artists, however, Michelangelo had the biggest impact on his work.

At What Point Did Water Features Emerge?

At What Point Did Water Features Emerge? Himself a learned man, Pope Nicholas V headed the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 till 1455 and was responsible for the translation of scores of age-old texts from their original Greek into Latin. In order to make Rome deserving of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope decided to enhance the beauty of the city. Starting in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent restoration at the behest of the Pope. Building a mostra, a grandiose celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the arrival point of an aqueduct, was a tradition revived by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was commissioned by the Pope to construct a wall fountain where we now find the Trevi Fountain. Point Water Features Emerge? 135848502501.jpg

Point Water Features Emerge? 135848502501.jpg

The water which eventually furnished the Trevi Fountain as well as the acclaimed baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona came from the modified aqueduct which he had renovated.

Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Greatest Fountains

Bernini: Genius Behind Italy's Greatest Fountains 2179172311.jpg

Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Greatest Fountains The Barcaccia, Bernini's first fountain, is a striking chef d'oeuvre built at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will find Roman locals and vacation goers occupying this spot to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. 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 very first water fountain of the master's career. Illustrated in the fountain's design is a large vessel gradually sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. According to 16th century texts, a great flood of the Tevere covered the entire area in water, an event which was commemorated by the magnificent fountain. Absenting himself from Italy only once in his life for a lengthy time period, in 1665 Bernini voyaged to France.

Creators of the First Fountains

Creators of the First Fountains Creators First Fountains 6531565317240897839.jpg

Water feature designers were multi-talented people from the 16th to the later part of the 18th century, often working as architects, sculptors, artisans, engineers and highly educated scholars all in one person. Leonardo da Vinci as a imaginative intellect, inventor and scientific virtuoso exemplified this Renaissance artist. He systematically captured his observations in his now recognized notebooks, after his tremendous interest in the forces of nature guided him to explore the attributes and mobility of water. Modifying private villa settings into imaginative water exhibits packed of symbolic meaning and natural wonder, early Italian water feature engineers fused creativity with hydraulic and horticultural expertise. The humanist Pirro Ligorio, renowned for his virtuosity in archeology, architecture and garden design, offered the vision behind the splendors in Tivoli. Masterminding the excellent water marbles, water attributes and water antics for the various mansions in the vicinity of Florence, other fountain engineers were well versed in humanistic subjects and ancient scientific texts.