Bernini: The Master of Italy's Most Impressive Water Fountains
Bernini: The Master of Italy's Most Impressive Water Fountains One can see Bernini's earliest masterpiece, the Barcaccia fountain, at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will find Roman residents and vacation goers filling this area to revel in chit chatter and being among other people.
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 mandated what was to be the very first water fountain of the master's career. A massive boat slowly sinking into the Mediterranean is the fountain's central theme. The great 16th century flooding of the Tevere, which left the entire region inundated with water, was memorialized by the fountain according to writings from the period. Absenting himself from Italy only once in his life for a prolonged period of time, in 1665 Bernini voyaged to France.
The Genesis Of Wall Fountains
The Genesis Of Wall Fountains The incredible construction of a fountain allows it to provide clean water or shoot water high into air for dramatic effect and it can also serve as an excellent design feature to enhance your home.
From the onset, outdoor fountains were soley meant to serve as functional elements. Residents of urban areas, townships and small towns utilized them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash, which meant that fountains needed to be connected to nearby aqueduct or spring. Used until the nineteenth 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 the power of gravity. Serving as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also generated clean, fresh drinking water. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often utilized by Romans to beautify their fountains. Throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners incorporated fountains to create mini depictions of the gardens of paradise. To show his dominance over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. To mark the entrance of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the construction of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts entered the city of Rome
The end of the nineteenth century saw the increase in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Gravity was replaced by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for amazing water displays.
Nowadays, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.