Acqua Vergine: The Solution to Rome's Water Troubles
Acqua Vergine: The Solution to Rome's Water Troubles Rome’s 1st raised aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in 273 BC; before that, people living 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 lone technologies obtainable at the time to supply water to spots of greater elevation. Starting in the sixteenth century, a unique system was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean sections to provide water to Pincian Hill. As originally constructed, the aqueduct was provided along the length of its channel with pozzi (manholes) constructed at regular intervals. While these manholes were developed to make it much easier to maintain the aqueduct, it was also feasible to use buckets to remove water from the channel, which was carried out by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he acquired the property in 1543 to his passing in 1552. The cistern he had built to obtain rainwater wasn’t adequate to meet his water demands. Via an opening to the aqueduct that flowed below his property, he was in a position to meet his water desires.When and Where Did Water Features Emerge?
When and Where Did Water Features Emerge? The translation of hundreds of classic Greek texts into Latin was commissioned by the learned Pope Nicholas V who led the Church in Rome from 1397 till 1455. Embellishing Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the core of his ambitions. Restoration of the Acqua Vergine, a desolate Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away, began in 1453 at the behest of the Pope. The ancient Roman custom of marking the arrival point of an aqueduct with an imposing celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored 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 Trevi Fountain as well as the well-known baroque fountains found in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the modified aqueduct he had rebuilt.The Genesis Of Fountains
The Genesis Of Fountains A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for a noteworthy effect.Pure functionality was the original purpose of fountains.
Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with drinking water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water source, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Designers thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and honor the designer responsible for building it. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times utilized by Romans to decorate their fountains. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of the gardens of paradise. Fountains played a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exercise his power over nature. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to laud their positions by adding decorative baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
The end of the 19th century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to supply drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Gravity was substituted by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for amazing water displays.
Modern fountains are used to adorn community spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.