The Origins Of Garden Fountains
The Origins Of Garden Fountains A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to provide drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes.The main purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, from aqueducts or springs nearby. Until the late 19th, century most water fountains functioned using gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a supply of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Fountains were an excellent source of water, and also served to adorn living areas and memorialize the designer. The main components used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly illustrating animals or heroes. Throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners incorporated fountains to create smaller variations of the gardens of paradise.
The fountains seen in the Gardens of Versailles were meant to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. To mark the entryway of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the construction of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts arrived in the city of Rome
Indoor plumbing became the main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Modern fountains are used to adorn community spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.
Back Story of Fountains
Back Story of Fountains
The translation of hundreds of ancient Greek texts into Latin was commissioned by the scholarly Pope Nicholas V who ruled the Church in Rome from 1397 until 1455. In order to make Rome deserving of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope resolved to enhance the beauty of the city. Beginning in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent repair at the behest of the Pope. The ancient Roman custom of building an awe-inspiring commemorative fountain at the point where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was resurrected by Nicholas V. The present-day location of the Trevi Fountain was formerly occupied by a wall fountain commissioned by the Pope and constructed by the architect Leon Battista Alberti. The aqueduct he had reconditioned included modifications and extensions which eventually enabled it to supply water to the Trevi Fountain as well as the renowned baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona.
Acqua Vergine: The Answer to Rome's Water Problems
Acqua Vergine: The Answer to Rome's Water Problems Rome’s first raised aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in 273 BC; before that, residents residing at higher elevations had to rely on local streams for their water. When aqueducts or springs weren’t available, people living at greater elevations turned to water taken from underground or rainwater, which was made possible by wells and cisterns. In the early 16th century, the city began to use the water that ran below ground through Acqua Vergine to furnish water to Pincian Hill. Spanning the length of the aqueduct’s channel were pozzi, or manholes, that gave access. Though they were initially planned to make it possible to service the aqueduct, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi started out using the manholes to gather water from the channel, opening when he acquired the property in 1543.
He didn’t get a sufficient quantity of water from the cistern that he had established on his property to obtain rainwater. To give himself with a more streamlined means to gather water, he had one of the manholes opened up, giving him access to the aqueduct below his residence.