Rome’s First Water Transport Solutions

Aqua Anio Vetus, the first raised aqueduct assembled in Rome, commenced providing the men and women living in the hills with water in 273 BC, even though they had counted on natural springs up until then. If inhabitants living at higher elevations did not have accessibility to springs or the aqueduct, they’d have to count on the other existing solutions of the day, cisterns that compiled rainwater from the sky and subterranean wells that received the water from below ground. In the early 16th century, the city began to make use of the water that flowed underground through Acqua Vergine to provide water to Pincian Hill. The aqueduct’s channel was made reachable by pozzi, or manholes, that were placed along its length when it was first developed. While these manholes were provided to make it less difficult to sustain the aqueduct, it was also feasible to use containers to pull water from the channel, which was employed by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he invested in the property in 1543 to his death in 1552. The cistern he had constructed to collect rainwater wasn’t adequate to meet his water demands. Fortunately, the aqueduct sat just below his property, and he had a shaft opened to give him access.

Garden Fountain Engineers Through History

Garden Fountain Engineers Through History Frequently working as architects, sculptors, designers, engineers and discerning scholars, all in one, fountain designers were multi-faceted individuals from the 16th to the late 18th century. Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance artist, was notable as an creative master, inventor and scientific virtuoso. He methodically recorded his findings in his now much celebrated notebooks about his investigations into the forces of nature and the qualities and movement of water. Early Italian fountain builders transformed private villa settings into amazing water exhibits complete with symbolic meaning and natural beauty by combining creativity with hydraulic and gardening experience. Known for his virtuosity in archeology, design and garden creations, Pirro Ligorio, the humanist, delivered the vision behind the splendors in Tivoli. Masterminding the fascinating water marbles, water features and water jokes for the assorted mansions near Florence, some other water fountain designers were well versed in humanist topics as well as time-honored scientific texts.