Back zoom from the Cupola of St Peter Basilica to Bernini fountain in St Peter Square, Rome; back zoom, back lit; (Full HD-1280x720,Photo Jpeg)\r\rBernini realized this fountain placing an inverted vasque or cap like a mushroom, covered with stone scales. When the water spouted from the top, it poured down over the top of the upper vasque, its flow broken and made to sparkle by the stone scales.\r\rLike all fountains of the time, the fountain on St. Peter’s Square had no pumps and operated purely by gravity, with a source of water higher than the fountain which caused the water to shoot upwards. The source of water for the fountain, the Aqua Paola, was on the Janiculum hill, 266 above sea level, which meant that the fountain could shoot water twenty feet upwards into the air.