The Origins Of Wall Fountains
The Origins Of Wall Fountains A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to supply drinking water, as well as for decorative purposes.The central purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with drinking water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. 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 amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and celebrate the designer responsible for creating it. Bronze or stone masks of wildlife and heroes were frequently seen on Roman 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. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were glorified with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Urban fountains created at the end of the nineteenth functioned only as decorative and celebratory ornaments since indoor plumbing provided the essential drinking water. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to bring recycled water into living spaces as well as create special water effects.
Modern-day fountains function mostly as decoration for public spaces, to honor individuals or events, and compliment entertainment and recreational events.
The Source of Today's Fountains
The Source of Today's Fountains Himself a highly educated man, Pope Nicholas V led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 till 1455 and was responsible for the translation of hundreds of ancient documents from their original Greek into Latin. He undertook the beautification of Rome to make it into the worthy capital of the Christian world. In 1453 the Pope commissioned the reconstruction of the Aqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away. Building a mostra, an imposing celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the arrival point of an aqueduct, was a custom revived by Nicholas V. The present-day site of the Trevi Fountain was previously occupied by a wall fountain commissioned by the Pope and built by the architect Leon Battista Alberti. The Trevi Fountain as well as the renowned baroque fountains located in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the altered aqueduct he had rebuilt.