The Root of Modern Wall Fountains

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The translation of hundreds of ancient Greek texts into Latin was commissioned by the scholarly Pope Nicholas V who ruled the Church in Rome from 1397 until 1455. Embellishing Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the core of his objectives. Starting in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent reconstruction at the bidding of the Pope. The historical Roman tradition of marking the arrival point of an aqueduct with an imposing celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the area formerly filled with a wall fountain crafted by Leon Battista Albert, an architect commissioned by the Pope. 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.

Bernini's Early Masterpieces

Bernini's Early Masterpieces The Barcaccia, a stunning fountain built at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna, was Bernini's earliest water fountain. Roman locals and site seers who enjoy verbal exchanges as well as being the company of others still go to this spot. One of the city’s most stylish meeting places are the streets surrounding Bernini's fountain, which would certainly have brought a smile to the great Bernini. Bernini's Early Masterpieces 798852392067.jpg

Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII commissioned what was to be the very first fountain of the master's career. People can now see the fountain as a depiction of 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 what became his one and only extended absence from Italy, Bernini {journeyed | traveled] to France in 1665.

How Mechanical Concepts of Water Fountains Spread

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How Mechanical Concepts of Water Fountains Spread Spreading useful hydraulic facts and water fountain design ideas throughout Europe was accomplished with the printed documents and illustrated books of the time. An internationally recognized pioneer in hydraulics in the late 1500's was a French fountain engineer, whose name has been lost to history. His competence in designing landscapes and grottoes with incorporated and imaginative water features began in Italy and with commissions in Brussels, London and Germany. He penned a publication entitled “The Principles of Moving Forces” towards the end of his life while in France that became the essential text on hydraulic mechanics and engineering. Updating vital hydraulic discoveries of classical antiquity, the publication also explains modern hydraulic technologies. The water screw, a mechanical way to move water, and devised by Archimedes, was showcased in the book. Natural light heated up the water in two hidden vessels adjacent to the ornamental water feature were shown in an illustration. The hot water expands and then ascends and closes the water pipes thereby activating the water fountain. The publication also covers garden ponds, water wheels, water feature designs.