The Magificent First Masterpieces by Bernini

The Magificent First Masterpieces by Bernini Bernini's earliest fountain, named Barcaccia, is a masterful work of art found at the bottom of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna.

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To this day, you will see Roman residents and vacation goers filling this area to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. Bernini would without a doubt have been happy to know that people still flock to what has become one the city's trendiest 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 first fountain. Illustrated 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. In 1665 Bernini journeyed to France, in what was to be his only extended absence from Italy.

Acqua Vergine: The Answer to Rome's Water Troubles

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Acqua Vergine: The Answer to Rome's Water Troubles Rome’s first raised aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in 273 BC; before that, residents residing at higher elevations had to rely on natural creeks for their water. Outside of these aqueducts and springs, wells and rainwater-collecting cisterns were the sole technologies available at the time to supply water to areas of higher elevation. Starting in the sixteenth century, a brand new approach was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean portions to provide water to Pincian Hill. The aqueduct’s channel was made accessible by pozzi, or manholes, that were positioned along its length when it was initially developed. Whilst these manholes were provided to make it much easier to sustain the aqueduct, it was also possible to use containers to remove water from the channel, which was practiced by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he acquired the property in 1543 to his death in 1552. The cistern he had built to gather rainwater wasn’t sufficient to meet his water requirements. To give himself with a much more effective way to gather water, he had one of the manholes opened, giving him access to the aqueduct below his property.

The Impact of the Norman Conquest on Anglo-Saxon Garden Design

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Anglo-Saxons felt great adjustments to their day-to-day lives in the latter half of the eleventh century due to the accession of the Normans. The talent of the Normans surpassed the Anglo-Saxons' in design and agriculture at the time of the conquest. But home life, household architecture, and decoration were out of the question until the Normans taken over the entire population. Most often constructed upon windy peaks, castles were fundamental constructs that enabled their occupants to spend time and space to offensive and defensive schemes, while monasteries were rambling stone buildings commonly placed in only the most fecund, broad valleys. The tranquil method of gardening was unlikely in these dismal bastions. The best example of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture existent presently is Berkeley Castle. It is said that the keep was created during William the Conqueror's time. As a strategy of deterring assailants from tunneling underneath the walls, an immense terrace encircles the building. A scenic bowling green, covered in grass and bordered by battlements clipped out of an ancient yew hedge, creates one of the terraces.