Water Fountain Builders Through History

Often working as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and highly educated scholars all in one, from the 16th to the late 18th century, fountain designers were multi-faceted individuals, Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance artist, was renowned as a inspired intellect, inventor and scientific virtuoso. The forces of nature inspired him to examine the qualities and motion of water, and due to his fascination, he systematically documented his observations in his now famed notebooks. Early Italian water fountain engineers transformed private villa configurations into inspiring water showcases full of emblematic meaning and natural beauty by combining imagination with hydraulic and (my explanation) gardening experience. The humanist Pirro Ligorio, renowned for his virtuosity in archeology, architecture and garden design, offered the vision behind the splendors in Tivoli. Other water feature designers, masterminding the phenomenal water marbles, water attributes and water jokes for the various mansions in the vicinity of Florence, were well-versed in humanistic subjects and classical scientific readings.