Early Water Delivery Techniques in Rome

Early Water Delivery Techniques in Rome Rome’s first raised aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in 273 BC; prior to that, residents residing at higher elevations had to rely on local streams for their water. If inhabitants residing at higher elevations did not have access to springs or the aqueduct, they’d have to count on the other existing technologies of the time, cisterns that collected rainwater from the sky and subterranean wells that received the water from under ground. From the beginning of the sixteenth century, water was routed to Pincian Hill by way of the subterranean channel of Acqua Vergine. Throughout the time of its original construction, pozzi (or manholes) were located at set intervals alongside the aqueduct’s channel. During the roughly nine years he owned the residential property, from 1543 to 1552, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi made use of these manholes to take water from the channel in buckets, though they were previously established for the intent of maintaining and maintaining the aqueduct. The cistern he had constructed to gather rainwater wasn’t satisfactory to meet his water specifications. To provide himself with a more efficient means to gather water, he had one of the manholes exposed, offering him access to the aqueduct below his property.

Agrippa's Eye-popping, but Mostly Forgotten Water-Lifting Mechanism

Agrippa's Eye-popping, but Mostly Forgotten Water-Lifting Mechanism Though the machine developed by Agrippa for carrying water attained the respect of Andrea Bacci in 1588, it appeared to vanish not long thereafter. Agrippa's Eye-popping, Mostly Forgotten Water-Lifting Mechanism 25820253148095.jpg

Agrippa's Eye-popping, Mostly Forgotten Water-Lifting Mechanism 25820253148095.jpg

Just years afterward, in 1592, the earliest modern Roman waterway, the Acqua Felice, was attached to the Medici’s villa, perhaps making the unit obsolete. Its utilization could very well have been short but Camillo Agrippa’s innovation occupied a prominent place in history as the most amazing water-lifting hardware of its type in Italy prior to the modern era. There might have been some other impressive water-related works in Renaissance landscapes in the later part of the sixteenth century, including fountains which played tunes, water caprices (or giochi d’acqua) and also scenographic water displays, but none were powered by water that defied gravitation.

Back Story of Outdoor Water Fountains

Back Story of Outdoor Water Fountains Hundreds of classic Greek texts were translated into Latin under the auspices of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. It was imperative for him to beautify the city of Rome to make it worthy of being known as the capital of the Christian world. Back Story Outdoor Water Fountains 81595701565547.jpg

Back Story Outdoor Water Fountains 81595701565547.jpg

Starting in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent reconstruction at the behest of the Pope. The ancient Roman tradition of building an awe-inspiring commemorative fountain at the location where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was resurrected 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.