The Ascension of the Bourgeoisie
The identity and representation of the city
“The city’s prosperity depended on its water supply.”
The city’s prosperity depended on its water supply. Citizens were dependent on water both for their health and for security against fire. Fountains were important meeting points, representing one of the most basic elements of the urban structure. The importance of fountains is expressed in their artistic rendition within their historical and political contexts. Other considerable technical monuments attest to city living as harsh in terms both of hygiene and health; doctors, pharmacists and barbers belonged to the nobility of the city, both for their perceived wisdom and high public status.

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Águas Livres Aqueduct

1731–1799
Campolide, Lisbon, Portugal
Portuguese architect and engineer: Manuel da Maia (1677–1766 ); Italian architect: António Canevari (1671–1764); Portuguese architect and engineer: Custódio Vieira (c. 1690–1744?); main contractor: Carlos Mardel (c. 1695–1763); unknown Hungarian architects and engineers. For the fountain: engineer, Miguel Ângelo Blasco (active 1769–1770); architect: Reinaldo Manuel dos Santos [n.d.]
The aqueduct distributed water to the city of Lisbon. An open-air structure with monumental pointed arches, it included underground galleries, a reservoir, and other springs which endowed adjacent systems such as canals and fountains.