The History of Garden Water Fountains

The History of Garden Water Fountains Hundreds of ancient 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. In order to make Rome deserving of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope resolved to enhance the beauty of the city. 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. History Garden Water Fountains 2325581017.jpg

History Garden Water Fountains 2325581017.jpg

A mostra, a monumental dedicatory fountain built by ancient Romans to mark the point of arrival of an aqueduct, was a custom which was revived by Nicholas V. At the behest of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti undertook the construction of a wall fountain in the spot where we now find the Trevi Fountain. The water which eventually supplied the Trevi Fountain as well as the acclaimed baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona flowed from the modified aqueduct which he had renovated.

Acqua Vergine: The Remedy to Rome's Water Problems

Acqua Vergine: The Remedy to Rome's Water Problems Aqua Anio Vetus, the first raised aqueduct assembled in Rome, began delivering the many people living in the hills with water in 273 BC, though they had counted on natural springs up till then. If residents residing at higher elevations did not have access to springs or the aqueduct, they’d have to depend on the remaining existing systems of the time, cisterns that accumulated 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 underground channel of Acqua Vergine. Pozzi, or manholes, were constructed at standard stretches along the aqueduct’s channel. Though they were primarily manufactured to make it possible to support the aqueduct, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi started using the manholes to collect water from the channel, opening when he acquired the property in 1543. The cistern he had constructed to gather rainwater wasn’t satisfactory to meet his water needs. By using an orifice to the aqueduct that flowed below his property, he was in a position to satisfy his water wants.