A Chronicle of Outdoor Fountains

A Chronicle of Outdoor Fountains Hundreds of classic Greek records were translated into Latin under the auspices of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. Embellishing Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the core of his objectives. In 1453 the Pope commissioned the rebuilding of the Aqua Vergine, an historic Roman aqueduct which had carried fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away. The ancient Roman tradition of building an awe-inspiring commemorative fountain at the point where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was revived by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was directed by the Pope to build a wall fountain where we now find the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain as well as the renowned baroque fountains found in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the modified aqueduct he had rebuilt.

The Water Features

The Water Features Water Features 45016492397976623.jpg

Water fountains were initially practical in function, used to deliver water from canals or springs to cities and villages, supplying the inhabitants with fresh water to drink, wash, and cook with. A source of water higher in elevation than the fountain was required to pressurize the flow and send water squirting from the fountain's nozzle, a system without equal until the late 19th century. Fountains throughout history have been created as memorials, impressing hometown citizens and visitors alike. Simple in design, the first water fountains did not appear much like modern-day fountains. A stone basin, carved from rock, was the first fountain, utilized for containing water for drinking and spiritual functions. Rock basins are thought to have been first used around the year 2000 BC. Gravity was the energy source that controlled the initial water fountains. These original fountains were built to be functional, frequently situated along aqueducts, streams and waterways to supply drinking water. Fountains with ornate decoration started to appear in Rome in approximately 6 B.C., normally gods and animals, made with stone or copper-base alloy. The remarkable aqueducts of Rome delivered water to the eye-catching public fountains, many of which you can visit today.

"Old School" Fountain Designers

Multi-talented individuals, fountain designers from the 16th to the late 18th century frequently served as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one. Exemplifying the Renaissance artist as a imaginative master, Leonardo da Vinci toiled as an innovator and scientific guru. He systematically noted his experiences in his currently recognized notebooks, following his immense fascination in the forces of nature guided him to research the characteristics and motion of water. Innovative water exhibits packed of symbolic significance and natural charm converted private villa settings when early Italian water feature designers combined creativity with hydraulic and landscaping skill. The magnificence in Tivoli were provided by the humanist Pirro Ligorio, who was widely known for his skill in archeology, engineering and garden design. For the many mansions in the vicinity of Florence, other water feature creators were well versed in humanist topics and classical scientific texts, masterminding the extraordinary water marbles, water attributes and water humor.