Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Water Fountains
Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Water Fountains The Barcaccia, a stunning fountain constructed at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna, was Bernini's earliest water fountain. This area is still filled with Roman locals and visitors who like to exchanging gossip or going over the day's news. The streets neighboring his fountain have come to be one of the city’s most trendy gathering places, something which would certainly have pleased Bernini himself. The master's first water fountain of his career was built at around 1630 at the behest of Pope Urbano VIII. Illustrated in the fountain's design is a great ship slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. Period reports dating back to the 16th century indicate that the fountain was built as a monument to those who lost their lives in the great flooding of the Tevere.
In 1665, France was graced by Bernini's one-and-only lengthy voyage outside of Italy.
When and Where Did Water Fountains Emerge?
When and Where Did Water Fountains Emerge? Hundreds of ancient Greek texts were translated into Latin under the auspices of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. In order to make Rome worthy of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope resolved to embellish the beauty of the city. In 1453 the Pope instigated the reconstruction of the Aqua Vergine, an historic Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away.
Building a mostra, an imposing commemorative fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the entry point of an aqueduct, was a custom revived by Nicholas V. The present-day site of the Trevi Fountain was once occupied by a wall fountain commissioned by the Pope and built by the architect Leon Battista Alberti. The aqueduct he had reconditioned included modifications and extensions which eventually enabled it to supply water to the Trevi Fountain as well as the renowned baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona.
Where did Landscape Fountains Begin?
Where did Landscape Fountains Begin? A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for a noteworthy effect. The primary purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to supply them with drinking water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Used until the 19th century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their origin of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from gravity. Designers thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and celebrate the designer responsible for creating it. The main materials used by the Romans to build their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly illustrating animals or heroes. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to re-create the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to illustrate his dominion over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
The end of the 19th century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to supply drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Embellishing city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the purposes of modern-day fountains.
Outdoor Fountains: The Minoan Civilization
Outdoor Fountains: The Minoan Civilization During archaeological excavations on the island of Crete, various types of channels have been identified.
In conjunction with offering water, they distributed water which amassed from deluges or waste material. Stone and terracotta were the ingredients of choice for these conduits. Terracotta was utilized for channels and conduits, both rectangular and round. These included cone-like and U-shaped clay water lines which were distinctive to the Minoans. Terracotta piping were used to circulate water at Knossos Palace, running up to three meters directly below the floors. These Minoan pipelines were additionally used for amassing and stocking water, not just circulation. These clay pipelines were used to perform: Below ground Water Transportation: At first this process seems to have been fashioned not quite for convenience but to give water for certain people or rituals without it being noticed. Quality Water Transportation: The conduits may furthermore have been used to take water to water fountains which were split from the city’s regular technique.