On the Nature and Law of Waters (1693) - Page 24

CHAPTER III. On the Origin of Hydraulics.

COLLECTED FROM MOST HEALTHFUL SPRINGS

THE ANCIENT CHANNELS OF THE ALSIETINE WATER

HAVING BEEN RESTORED

AND NEW ONES ADDED

HE BROUGHT IT FROM THE THIRTY-FIFTH MILESTONE

IN THE YEAR OF THE LORD 1612

THE SEVENTH OF HIS PONTIFICATE.

§. 30. In the year 1644, Urban VIII original: Urbanus IIX; the text uses an older Roman numeral style for 8 completed two fountains near the palace of the Barberini, for one of which the following inscription was placed:

URBAN VIII, SUPREME PONTIFF

FOR THIS FOUNTAIN CONSTRUCTED FOR THE

PUBLIC ORNAMENT OF THE CITY

AND FOR THE CONVENIENCE OF INDIVIDUAL USES

SEPARATELY

HE PROVIDED HERE

IN THE YEAR 1644, THE 21ST OF HIS PONTIFICATE.

called Virgin

§. 31. In the year 1647, Pope Innocent X, in the Piazza Navona original: foro Navona; the piazza occupies the site of the ancient Stadium of Domitian, took care to have an elegant Obelisk erected by the architect Bernini. It was placed upon a hollowed-out rock, from where the water called "Virginis" The Aqua Virgo, an ancient aqueduct restored to serve the city's famous fountains, formerly also restored by Gregory XIII, bursts forth. The Obelisk is decorated with the following inscriptions:

INNOCENT X, SUPREME PONTIFF

Upon the gliding streams, he placed this stone carved with Nilotic Enigmas original: Niloticis Ænigmatibus; refers to Egyptian hieroglyphs, which in the 17th century were viewed as mystical, symbolic puzzles rather than a phonetic language, so that he might magnificently bestow healthful pleasantness for those strolling, drink for the thirsty, and food for those meditating A metaphor for the intellectual or spiritual inspiration provided by the monument’s beauty.

§. 32. The second is as follows:

The Obelisk brought to Rome by the Emperor Antoninus Caracalla,

after it had long lain broken among the ruins of the Circus Castrensis,

Innocent X, the Best and Greatest Supreme Pontiff,

transferred, renewed, and erected for the ornament of the Fountain and the Square.

IN THE YEAR OF SALVATION 1651, THE 7TH OF HIS PONTIFICATE.

§. 33. On the third side, these words are read:
INNOCENT X, SUPREME PONTIFF. Having enlarged and adorned the ancestral home of the Pamphili family and freed the Agonal area original: agonali area; another name for Piazza Navona, derived from the Greek agones (contests) held in the stadium from inconvenient buildings, he nobilized the most celebrated Square of the City with a manifold increase in Majesty.