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 central purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. Inhabitants of cities, townships and small towns used them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash up, which meant that fountains needed to be connected to nearby aqueduct or spring.
Until the late 19th, century most water fountains operated using the force of 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. Designers thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and celebrate the designer responsible for building it. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times used by Romans to beautify their fountains. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to mimic the gardens of paradise. To show his dominance over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to exalt their positions by including beautiful baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to provide recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Contemporary fountains are used to adorn community spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.
Inventors of the First Fountains
Inventors of the First Fountains Commonly working as architects, sculptors, designers, engineers and cultivated scholars, all in one, fountain creators were multi-faceted people from the 16th to the later part of the 18th century. Exemplifying the Renaissance artist as a creative master, Leonardo da Vinci worked as an inventor and scientific expert. He carefully noted his observations in his now famed notebooks, after his enormous fascination in the forces of nature led him to investigate the characteristics and movement of water.
Early Italian water feature engineers altered private villa configurations into innovative water exhibits full of emblematic meaning and natural elegance by combining imagination with hydraulic and gardening expertise. The magnificence in Tivoli were developed by the humanist Pirro Ligorio, who was renowned for his skill in archeology, architecture and garden design. For the assorted lands near Florence, other fountain creators were well versed in humanist themes and classical technical texts, masterminding the phenomenal water marbles, water attributes and water antics.