Inventors of the First Water Features

Inventors of the First Water Features Multi-talented people, fountain designers from the 16th to the late 18th century typically worked as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one. Exemplifying the Renaissance artist as a inspiring legend, Leonardo da Vinci toiled as an inventor and scientific specialist. He systematically captured his experiences in his now celebrated notebooks, after his mind boggling fascination in the forces of nature led him to examine the characteristics and mobility of water. Early Italian water feature designers converted private villa configurations into inventive water displays full with symbolic meaning and natural beauty by combining creativity with hydraulic and gardening talent. The humanist Pirro Ligorio supplied the vision behind the wonders in Tivoli and was celebrated for his skill in archeology, architecture and garden design. For the many lands near Florence, other fountain builders were well versed in humanistic subject areas and ancient scientific texts, masterminding the excellent water marbles, water highlights and water antics.

Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Water Fountains

Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Water Fountains The Barcaccia, Bernini's first water fountain, is a striking chef d'oeuvre built at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will see Roman residents and vacation goers occupying this area to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. The streets neighboring his water fountain have come to be one of the city’s most fashionable gathering places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. In around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII helped Bernini start off his career with the construction of his very first water fountain. People can now see the fountain as a depiction of a commanding ship slowly sinking into the Mediterranean. 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 traveled to France, in what was to be his only lengthy absence from Italy.