The History of Outdoor Garden Fountains
The History of Outdoor Garden Fountains Himself a learned man, Pope Nicholas V led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 till 1455 and was responsible for the translation of scores of age-old documents from their original Greek into Latin. He undertook the beautification of Rome to make it into the worthy capital of the Christian world.
At the behest of the Pope, the Aqua Vergine, a ruined aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into Rome from eight miles away, was restored starting in 1453. The ancient Roman custom of building an imposing commemorative fountain at the point where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. At the bidding of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti undertook the construction of a wall fountain in the spot where we now find the Trevi Fountain. Changes and extensions, included in the restored aqueduct, eventually supplied the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.
Modern Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Roots
Modern Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Roots A fountain, an incredible piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for a noteworthy effect.Originally, fountains only served a practical purpose. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the area. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be more elevated and closer to a water supply, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Designers thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and celebrate the artist responsible for creating it. Roman fountains often depicted images of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks. Muslims and Moorish garden designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to demonstrate his superiority over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles.
The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Since indoor plumbing became the norm of the day for fresh, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely decorative. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to bring recycled water into living spaces as well as create special water effects.
These days, fountains adorn public spaces and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.
The Original Garden Fountain Artists
The Original Garden Fountain Artists Often serving as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars, all in one, fountain creators were multi-talented people from the 16th to the later part of the 18th century.
Exemplifying the Renaissance skilled artist as a creative legend, Leonardo da Vinci performed as an innovator and scientific specialist. The forces of nature guided him to explore the properties and movement of water, and due to his curiosity, he carefully recorded his experiences in his now renowned notebooks. Remodeling private villa configurations into imaginative water displays complete of symbolic interpretation and natural beauty, early Italian fountain designers combined resourcefulness with hydraulic and horticultural knowledge. Known for his incredible skill in archeology, design and garden creations, Pirro Ligorio, the humanist, delivered the vision behind the wonders in Tivoli. Other water feature developers, masterminding the extraordinary water marbles, water functions and water humor for the various domains near Florence, were tried and tested in humanistic subjects and traditional scientific texts.