Modern Garden Decoration: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings
Modern Garden Decoration: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings 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 a noteworthy effect. From the onset, outdoor fountains were simply meant to serve as functional elements. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to provide potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Used until the 19th century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their source of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from gravity. Fountains were not only utilized as a water source for drinking water, but also to decorate homes and celebrate the artist who created it. Roman fountains often depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of metal or stone masks. To illustrate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages introduced fountains to their designs. Fountains played a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exercise his power over nature. 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.
Indoor plumbing became the key source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to provide recycled water into living spaces as well as create special water effects.
Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for community spaces, to honor individuals or events, and compliment entertainment and recreational gatherings.
A Small Garden Space? Don't Fret! You Can Still Have a Water Feature
A Small Garden Space? Don't Fret! You Can Still Have a Water Feature Since water is reflective, it has the effect of making a small spot appear bigger than it is. In order to achieve the maximum reflective properties of a water feature or fountain, it is best to use dark materials. When the sun goes down, you can use underwater lights in different colors and shapes to light up your new feature. profit from the sun’s rays by using eco-lights during the day and underwater lights during the night. Natural treatments use them because they emanate a soothing effect which helps to relieve stress as well as anxiety.The vegetation in your yard is a very good spot to fit in your water feature. Ponds, man-made rivers, or fountains are just some of the ways you can you can make it become the focal feature on your property. Water features make great add ons to both large gardens or small patios. The best way to perfect the atmosphere, position it in a good place and use the right accompaniments.
When and Where Did Water Fountains Emerge?
When and Where Did Water Fountains Emerge? Pope Nicholas V, himself a learned man, ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455 during which time he commissioned many translations of ancient classic Greek documents into Latin. Beautifying Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the center of his objectives. 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 reconstruction at the bidding of the Pope. The ancient Roman tradition of building an imposing commemorative fountain at the location where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was resurrected by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was commissioned by the Pope to put up a wall fountain where we now find the Trevi Fountain. Adjustments and extensions, included in the restored aqueduct, eventually provided the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.