Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Water Features
Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Water Features There are many celebrated water features in Rome’s city center. One of the best ever sculptors and designers of the 17th century, Gian Lorenzo Bernini fashioned, conceived and built almost all of them. Also a city architect, he had skills as a fountain developer, and remnants of his life's work are apparent throughout the roads of Rome. Bernini's father, a renowned Florentine sculptor, guided his young son, and they finally transferred in Rome, to fully show their art in the form of community water fountains and water features.
An exemplary workman, Bernin earned praise and the patronage of popes and well known painters. His sculpture was initially his claim to fame. He used his expertise and melded it gracefully with Roman marble, most notably in the Vatican. Although many artists impacted his artistic endeavors, Michelangelo affected him the most.
The History of Garden Water Fountains
The History of Garden Water Fountains Himself a highly educated man, Pope Nicholas V led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 till 1455 and was responsible for the translation of scores of ancient documents from their original Greek into Latin. Embellishing Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the core of his objectives. Beginning in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent reconstruction at the bidding of the Pope. The ancient Roman custom of marking the entry point of an aqueduct with an imposing celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the area formerly filled with a wall fountain built by Leon Battista Albert, an architect commissioned by the Pope. The aqueduct he had reconditioned included modifications and extensions which eventually enabled it to supply water to the Trevi Fountain as well as the renowned baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona.
The Origins Of Outdoor Fountains
The Origins Of Outdoor Fountains
A fountain, an incredible piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for a noteworthy effect. Pure functionality was the original purpose of fountains. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to provide potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains functioned using gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a source of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Serving as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often utilized by Romans to beautify their fountains. Throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners incorporated fountains to create smaller depictions of the gardens of paradise. The fountains found in the Gardens of Versailles were meant to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental. Gravity was replaced by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for open spaces, to honor individuals or events, and compliment entertainment and recreational activities.
Public Water Fountains Found in Historical Documents
Public Water Fountains Found in Historical Documents As initially conceived, fountains were crafted to be functional, guiding water from streams or reservoirs to the residents of towns and villages, where the water could be used for cooking, washing, and drinking. Gravity was the power source of water fountains up until the end of the 19th century, using the forceful power of water traveling down hill from a spring or creek to squeeze the water through spigots or other outlets. Fountains all through history have been crafted as monuments, impressing hometown citizens and travelers alike. When you see a fountain today, that is certainly not what the 1st water fountains looked like.
Simple stone basins crafted from nearby rock were the first fountains, used for spiritual ceremonies and drinking water. The earliest stone basins are presumed to be from around 2000 BC. The force of gravity was the energy source that operated the earliest water fountains. Drinking water was delivered by public fountains, long before fountains became ornate public monuments, as attractive as they are practical. The Romans began building ornate fountains in 6 B.C., most of which were bronze or natural stone masks of creatures and mythological representations. The remarkable aqueducts of Rome supplied water to the spectacular public fountains, most of which you can visit today.