The Godfather Of Roman Garden Water Fountains

Godfather Roman Garden Water Fountains 56808341059002.jpg

The Godfather Of Roman Garden Water Fountains There are countless renowned water features in the city center of Rome. One of the best ever sculptors and artists of the 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini fashioned, conceptualized and built almost all of them. Traces of his life's efforts are evident all through the roads of Rome simply because, in addition to his capabilities as a fountain designer, he was additionally a city builder. Bernini's father, a celebrated Florentine sculptor, guided his young son, and they eventually settled in Rome, to fully express their artwork in the form of community water fountains and water features. An excellent employee, the young Bernini received praise and patronage of many popes and important artists. He was originally recognized for his sculpture. Most notably in the Vatican, he made use of a base of knowledge in historical Greek architecture and melded it effortlessly with Roman marble. Though many artists had an impact on his work, Michelangelo had the most profound effect.

Rome’s Early Water Delivery Systems

Rome’s Early Water Delivery Systems With the building of the first elevated aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, people who lived on the city’s hillsides no longer had to be dependent exclusively on naturally-occurring spring water for their requirements. When aqueducts or springs weren’t accessible, people dwelling at higher elevations turned to water taken from underground or rainwater, which was made possible by wells and cisterns. In the early sixteenth century, the city began to use the water that flowed below ground through Acqua Vergine to supply drinking water to Pincian Hill. As originally constructed, the aqueduct was provided along the length of its channel with pozzi (manholes) constructed at regular intervals. Even though they were originally manufactured to make it possible to service the aqueduct, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi began using the manholes to collect water from the channel, starting when he purchased the property in 1543. Although the cardinal also had a cistern to amass rainwater, it didn’t produce sufficient water. Via an opening to the aqueduct that ran underneath his property, he was in a position to reach his water demands.

Water Fountains Found in Historical Documents

Water Fountains Found in Historical Documents As originally developed, fountains were designed to be functional, directing water from streams or aqueducts to the citizens of cities and settlements, where the water could be used for cooking food, cleaning, and drinking. A source of water higher in elevation than the fountain was necessary to pressurize the movement and send water spraying from the fountain's spout, a technology without equal until the late 19th century. Water Fountains Found Historical Documents 757462870.jpg

Water Fountains Found Historical Documents 757462870.jpg

The beauty and wonder of fountains make them ideal for historic monuments. The contemporary fountains of today bear little similarity to the first water fountains. A stone basin, carved from rock, was the first fountain, used for holding water for drinking and ceremonial purposes. Rock basins are thought to have been 1st made use of around 2000 BC. The first civilizations that utilized fountains depended on gravity to drive water through spigots. Located near reservoirs or springs, the practical public water fountains supplied the local population with fresh drinking water. The people of Rome began building ornate fountains in 6 B.C., most of which were bronze or stone masks of wildlife and mythological characters. A well-engineered collection of reservoirs and aqueducts kept Rome's public water fountains supplied with fresh water.

Bernini: The Master of Italy's Most Impressive Fountains

Bernini: The Master of Italy's Most Impressive Fountains Bernini's earliest fountain, named Barcaccia, is a masterful work of art seen at the bottom of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. Bernini: Master Italy's Impressive Fountains 422762521258717346.jpg

Bernini: Master Italy's Impressive Fountains 422762521258717346.jpg

To this day, this spot is filled with Roman locals and tourists alike who enjoy conversation and each other's company. 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. The master's very first water fountain of his professional life was built at around 1630 at the behest of Pope Urbano VIII. The fountain’s central theme is based on a massive ship slowly sinking into the Mediterranean. The great flooding of the Tevere that covered the whole region with water in the 16th was memorialized by this momentous fountain as recorded by reports dating back to this period. In 1665, France was graced by Bernini's one-and-only extended trip outside of Italy.