The Original Public Water Features of the Historical Past
The Original Public Water Features of the Historical Past Towns and villages relied on practical water fountains to channel water for cooking, washing, and cleaning up from nearby sources like lakes, streams, or springs.
A source of water higher in elevation than the fountain was necessary to pressurize the flow and send water spraying from the fountain's spout, a technology without equal until the later half of the nineteenth century. Typically used as monuments and commemorative structures, water fountains have influenced men and women from all over the world throughout the ages. If you saw the earliest fountains, you would not recognize them as fountains. Basic stone basins created from local stone were the original fountains, used for religious ceremonies and drinking water. Stone basins are believed to have been first utilized around the year 2000 BC. Early fountains used in ancient civilizations depended on gravity to manipulate the flow of water through the fountain. Drinking water was supplied by public fountains, long before fountains became decorative public monuments, as attractive as they are practical. The Romans began constructing ornate fountains in 6 BC, most of which were metallic or stone masks of creatures and mythological heroes. The City of Rome had an intricate system of aqueducts that furnished the water for the numerous fountains that were placed throughout the city.
Where did Landscape Fountains Begin?
Where did Landscape Fountains Begin? The dramatic or decorative effect of a fountain is just one of the purposes it fulfills, as well as providing drinking water and adding a decorative touch to your property.Pure functionality was the original purpose of fountains. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to provide drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up to the late nineteenth century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and higher than the fountain so that gravity could make the water flow downwards or shoot high into the air.
Fountains were an excellent source of water, and also served to adorn living areas and celebrate the designer. Roman fountains often depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. To demonstrate his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden 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.
The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Gravity was substituted by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Contemporary fountains are used to adorn public spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.