The Source of Today's Wall Fountains
The Source of Today's Wall Fountains Pope Nicholas V, himself a learned man, ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455 during which time he commissioned many translations of old classical Greek documents into Latin. He undertook the embellishment of Rome to make it into the worthy seat of the Christian world. Beginning 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 reconstruction at the bidding of the Pope. Building a mostra, an imposing celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the entry point of an aqueduct, was a custom revived by Nicholas V. At the behest of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti undertook the construction of a wall fountain in the spot where we now find the Trevi Fountain. 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 Most Impressive Fountains
Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Most Impressive Fountains One can see Bernini's very first masterpiece, the Barcaccia fountain, 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 area to revel in chit chatter and being among other people.
One of the city’s most stylish gathering places are the streets surrounding Bernini's fountain, which would undoubtedly have brought a smile to the great Bernini. The master's very first water fountain of his career was built at around 1630 at the request of Pope Urbano VIII. Depicted in the fountain's design is a large ship gradually sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. The great flooding of the Tevere that covered the whole region with water in the 16th was commemorated by this momentous fountain as recorded by reports dating back to this period. In 1665 Bernini traveled to France, in what was to be his sole lengthy absence from Italy.