Where did Garden Water Fountains Begin?
Where did Garden Water Fountains Begin? A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for an extraordinary effect.From the onset, outdoor fountains were soley there to serve as functional elements. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with potable water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains operated using the force of gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a source of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Artists thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and honor the designer responsible for creating it. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often used by Romans to decorate their fountains. Throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners incorporated fountains to create mini variations of the gardens of paradise. To show his dominance over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were glorified with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the place of entry of Roman aqueducts.
Urban fountains built at the end of the nineteenth served only as decorative and celebratory adornments since indoor plumbing provided the necessary drinking water. Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for community spaces, to honor individuals or events, and enhance entertainment and recreational activities.
Rome’s First Water Delivery Systems
Rome’s First Water Delivery Systems Previous to 273, when the first elevated aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in Roma, inhabitants who lived on hills had to travel even further down to gather their water from natural sources. During this period, there were only 2 other techniques capable of supplying water to elevated areas, subterranean wells and cisterns, which gathered rainwater. From the beginning of the sixteenth century, water was routed to Pincian Hill by way of the underground channel of Acqua Vergine. Pozzi, or manholes, were engineered at standard intervals along the aqueduct’s channel. While these manholes were provided to make it easier to conserve the aqueduct, it was also feasible to use buckets to pull water from the channel, which was exercised by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he purchased the property in 1543 to his passing in 1552.
The cistern he had made to obtain rainwater wasn’t satisfactory to meet his water needs. Fortunately, the aqueduct sat under his property, and he had a shaft opened to give him accessibility.