From Where Did Water Fountains Originate?

From Where Did Water Fountains Originate? The translation of hundreds of classical Greek documents into Latin was commissioned by the learned Pope Nicholas V who led the Church in Rome from 1397 till 1455. Beautifying Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the heart of his objectives. At the behest of the Pope, the Aqua Vergine, a damaged aqueduct which had transported clean drinking water into Rome from eight miles away, was renovated starting in 1453. The historical Roman custom of marking the arrival point of an aqueduct with an magnificent celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. At the bidding of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti began the construction of a wall fountain in the spot where we now find the Trevi Fountain. Adjustments and extensions, included in the restored aqueduct, eventually provided the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.

Aqueducts: The Solution to Rome's Water Challenges

Aqueducts: The Solution to Rome's Water Challenges Aqueducts: Solution Rome's Water Challenges 287525002102528993.jpg

Rome’s 1st raised aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in 273 BC; before that, inhabitants residing at higher elevations had to depend on local creeks for their water. When aqueducts or springs weren’t easily accessible, people dwelling at raised elevations turned to water removed from underground or rainwater, which was made available by wells and cisterns. Beginning in the sixteenth century, a new method was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean sections to provide water to Pincian Hill. As originally constructed, the aqueduct was provided along the length of its channel with pozzi (manholes) constructed at regular intervals. Though they were initially developed to make it possible to service the aqueduct, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi began using the manholes to gather water from the channel, starting when he obtained the property in 1543. It appears that, the rainwater cistern on his property wasn’t adequate to meet his needs. Through an orifice to the aqueduct that flowed below his property, he was in a position to fulfill his water demands.

The Dispersion of Fountain Design Innovation

The Dispersion of Fountain Design Innovation Contributing to the advancement of scientific technology were the printed papers and illustrated publications of the time. They were also the primary means of transmitting useful hydraulic information and fountain design ideas all through Europe. In the late 1500's, a French fountain architect (whose name has been lost) was the internationally distinguished hydraulics pioneer. With imperial commissions in Brussels, London and Germany, he started his career in Italy, developing expertise in garden design and grottoes with incorporated and imaginative water features. “The Principles of Moving Forces”, a guide which became the essential text on hydraulic mechanics and engineering, was authored by him toward the end of his life in France. Classical antiquity hydraulic discoveries were outlined as well as revisions to essential classical antiquity hydraulic discoveries in the publication. Prominent among these works were those of Archimedes, the creator of the water screw, a mechanized way of transferring water. Sunlight warmed the water in a pair of concealed containers adjacent to the ornamental water feature were shown in an illustration. The end result: the water fountain is activated by the hot water expanding and ascending up the pipelines. Models for pumps, water wheels, water features and outdoor ponds are also covered in the guide.

Bernini's Earliest Masterpieces

Bernini's Earliest Masterpieces Bernini's earliest water fountain, named Barcaccia, is a masterful work of art found at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. This area is still filled with Roman locals and visitors who like to exchanging gossip or going over the day's news. Bernini would undoubtedly have been happy to know that people still flock to what has become one the city's trendiest areas, that surrounding his amazing water fountain. Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII commissioned what was to be the very first water fountain of the artist's career. An enormous 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 commemorated by this momentous fountain as recorded by reports dating back to this time. In 1665 Bernini journeyed to France, in what was to be his only lengthy absence from Italy.