Giovanni Fontana (architect)

[1] Fontana began his career as an architect as an assistant to Giacomo della Porta, implementing designs by Michelangelo.

[3] In 1596 he undertook some engineering projects, such as the draining of the Rieti Valley which was commissioned by pope Clement VIII.

Castello di Torrenova was originally a medieval farmhouse that Fontana enlarged and embellished with Renaissance details and crenellated walls.

[4][5] Fontana was the first great architect-engineer who carved out a role in hydraulics that deals with the leveling of land, the conduct of canals, and the control of the speed of water.

[citation needed] He brought water back to Rome by reorganizing and exploiting the hydraulic works of the past.