The Beautiful First Wonders by Bernini

The Beautiful First Wonders by Bernini The Barcaccia, a beautiful water fountain constructed at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna, was Bernini's earliest water fountain. To this day, this spot is flooded with Roman locals and travelers alike who enjoy conversation and each other's company. Today, the city streets surrounding Bernini's water fountain are a trendy area where people go to meet, something which the artist would have been pleased to learn. Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII commissioned what was to be the very first water fountain of the artist's career. A large ship slowly sinking into the Mediterranean is the fountain's central theme. 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 what turned out to be his only extended absence from Italy, Bernini {journeyed | traveled] to France in 1665.

Water Transport Strategies in Early Rome

Water Transport Strategies Early Rome 3840266481315636.jpg

Water Transport Strategies in Early Rome With the building of the 1st elevated aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, individuals who lived on the city’s foothills no longer had to rely exclusively on naturally-occurring spring water for their requirements. When aqueducts or springs weren’t available, people dwelling at raised elevations turned to water removed from underground or rainwater, which was made available by wells and cisterns. To furnish water to Pincian Hill in the early 16th century, they applied the new technique of redirecting the circulation from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct’s underground network. As originally constructed, the aqueduct was provided along the length of its channel with pozzi (manholes) constructed at regular intervals. While these manholes were created to make it easier to conserve the aqueduct, it was also feasible to use containers to pull water from the channel, which was exercised by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he acquired the property in 1543 to his passing in 1552. The cistern he had built to collect rainwater wasn’t adequate to meet his water demands. Thankfully, the aqueduct sat under his residence, and he had a shaft opened to give him accessibility.

"Primitive" Greek Artistry: Garden Statuary

"Primitive" Greek Artistry: Garden Statuary The primitive Greeks developed the first freestanding statuary, an awesome achievement as most sculptures up until then had been reliefs cut into walls and pillars. For the most part the statues, or kouros figures, were of young and desirable male or female (kore) Greeks.

Representing beauty to the Greeks, the kouroi were made to look stiff and typically had foot forward; the males were vigorous, sturdy, and naked. In about 650 BC, the varieties of the kouroi became life-sized. The Archaic period was turbulent for the Greeks as they progressed into more polished forms of government and art, and obtained more information about the peoples and civilizations outside of Greece. Conflicts like The Arcadian wars, the Spartan invasion of Samos, and other wars involving city-states are suggestive of the disruptive nature of the time period, which was similar to other periods of historical upset. However, these conflicts did not significantly hinder the advancement of the Greek civilization.