The Garden Fountains

The Garden Fountains The water from rivers and other sources was originally delivered to the occupants of nearby towns and municipalities by way of water fountains, whose purpose was largely practical, not artistic. To make water flow through a fountain until the later part of the 1800’s, and produce a jet of water, mandated gravity and a water source such as a creek or reservoir, positioned higher than the fountain. Fountains spanning history have been crafted as monuments, impressing local citizens and travelers alike. Garden Fountains 1329097770567190.jpg

The common fountains of today bear little similarity to the first water fountains. A stone basin, crafted from rock, was the very first fountain, used for holding water for drinking and ceremonial purposes. The first stone basins are thought to be from around 2000 BC. The force of gravity was the power source that controlled the oldest water fountains. These historic fountains were built to be functional, commonly situated along reservoirs, creeks and waterways to furnish drinking water. The Romans began creating elaborate fountains in 6 BC, most of which were metallic or stone masks of creatures and mythological representations. The extraordinary aqueducts of Rome furnished water to the eye-catching public fountains, many of which you can visit today.

From Where Did Water Features Emerge?

Water Features Emerge? 017952827384959355.jpg

From Where Did Water Features Emerge? The translation of hundreds of classic Greek texts into Latin was commissioned by the scholarly Pope Nicholas V who led the Church in Rome from 1397 till 1455. In order to make Rome deserving of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope resolved to embellish the beauty of the city. In 1453 the Pope commissioned the rebuilding of the Aqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away. A mostra, a monumental celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to mark the point of entry of an aqueduct, was a tradition which was restored by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the area previously filled with a wall fountain crafted by Leon Battista Albert, an architect commissioned by the Pope. Modifications and extensions, included in the repaired aqueduct, eventually supplied the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.

The Beautiful First Masterpieces by Bernini

Beautiful First Masterpieces Bernini 000704537825190154.jpg

The Beautiful First Masterpieces 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 fountain. To this day, you will find Roman residents and vacation goers filling this area to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. One of the city’s most stylish meeting places are the streets surrounding Bernini's fountain, which would undoubtedly have brought a smile to the great Bernini. Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII mandated what was to be the very first water fountain of the artist's career. A large boat slowly sinking into the Mediterranean is the fountain's main theme. The great flooding of the Tevere that blanketed the whole region with water in the 16th was memorialized by this momentous fountain as recorded by documents dating back to this period. In what turned out to be his one and only extended absence from Italy, Bernini {journeyed | traveled] to France in 1665.

Water Transport Strategies in Early Rome

Water Transport Strategies in Early Rome Water Transport Strategies Early Rome 56116940225767478156.jpg

With the manufacturing of the very first raised aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, folks who lived on the city’s hillsides no longer had to depend entirely on naturally-occurring spring water for their requirements. Outside of these aqueducts and springs, wells and rainwater-collecting cisterns were the sole technologies readily available at the time to supply water to locations of high elevation. Starting in the sixteenth century, a newer method was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean portions to supply water to Pincian Hill. As originally constructed, the aqueduct was provided along the length of its channel with pozzi (manholes) constructed at regular intervals. The manholes made it less demanding to clean the channel, but it was also possible to use buckets to extract water from the aqueduct, as we witnessed with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he bought the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he died. The cistern he had built to gather rainwater wasn’t adequate to meet his water needs. Fortunately, the aqueduct sat below his property, and he had a shaft established to give him accessibility.