The Earliest Fountains

Bernini's Early Showpieces
Bernini's Early Showpieces The Barcaccia, Bernini's first water fountain, is a magnificent chef d'oeuvre built at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, this spot is flooded with Roman locals and tourists alike who enjoy debate and each other's company. The streets neighboring his water fountain have come to be one of the city’s most stylish meeting places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. In about 1630, the great artist built the first fountain of his career at the behest of Pope Ubano VIII. Illustrated in the fountain's design is a large vessel gradually sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. 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 documents dating back to this period. Absenting himself from Italy only once in his life for a prolonged time period, in 1665 Bernini traveled to France.Anglo Saxon Landscapes During the Norman Conquest
Anglo Saxon Landscapes During the Norman Conquest The introduction of the Normans in the second half of the 11th century irreparably transformed The Anglo-Saxon lifestyle. The Normans were better than the Anglo-Saxons at architecture and horticulture when they came into power. Nonetheless the Normans had to pacify the entire territory before they could concentrate on home life, domestic architecture, and decoration. Because of this, castles were cruder buildings than monasteries: Monasteries were frequently immense stone buildings set in the biggest and most fecund valleys, while castles were built on windy crests where their inhabitants devoted time and space to projects for offense and defense. The calm method of gardening was impractical in these bleak bastions. Berkeley Castle is probably the most complete model in existence at present of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture. The keep is said to date from William the Conqueror's time period. As a technique of deterring assailants from tunneling underneath the walls, an immense terrace encircles the building. On one of these parapets is a scenic bowling green covered in grass and bordered by an aged hedge of yew that has been designed into coarse battlements."Primitive" Greek Artistry: Large Statuary
"Primitive" Greek Artistry: Large Statuary Up until the Archaic Greeks developed the first freestanding statuary, a phenomenal success, carvings had largely been completed in walls and pillars as reliefs. Most of the freestanding statues were of youthful, winsome male or female (kore) Greeks and are referred to as kouros figures. Symbolizing beauty to the Greeks, the kouroi were made to look stiff and typically had foot in front; the males were vigorous, powerful, and naked. Around 650 BC, life-sized forms of the kouroi began to be seen.