Where did Fountains Begin?
Where did Fountains Begin?
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. Originally, fountains only served a practical purpose. Inhabitants of urban areas, townships and small towns utilized them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash up, which meant that fountains had to be connected to nearby aqueduct or spring. 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 supply of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Serving as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also supplied clean, fresh drinking water. Roman fountains usually depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks. Throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create smaller depictions of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to illustrate his dominion over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot 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. Gravity was substituted by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for amazing water displays.
These days, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to recognize individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.
The Root of Modern Outdoor Wall Fountains
The Root of Modern Outdoor Wall Fountains
Pope Nicholas V, himself a learned man, reigned the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455 during which time he commissioned many translations of old classic Greek documents into Latin. In order to make Rome deserving of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope resolved to embellish the beauty of the city. Restoration of the Acqua Vergine, a ruined Roman aqueduct which had carried fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away, began in 1453 at the bidding of the Pope. The ancient Roman tradition of marking the arrival point of an aqueduct with an magnificent celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the space formerly filled with a wall fountain crafted by Leon Battista Albert, an architect employed by the Pope. The aqueduct he had reconditioned included modifications and extensions which eventually allowed it to supply water to the Trevi Fountain as well as the renowned baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona.
The Early, Unappreciated Water-Moving System
The Early, Unappreciated Water-Moving System Although the device developed by Agrippa for moving water gained the admiration of Andrea Bacci in 1588, it appeared to vanish not very long after.
It could perhaps be that in 1592 when Rome’s most recent channel, the Acqua Felice, started delivering the Villa Medici, there was simply no longer much usage for the equipment. In truth it was probably simply forgotten when Ferdinando returned to Florence in 1588 following the passing away of his sibling, Francesco di Medici, leading Ferdinando to give up his position as a cardinal to safeguard his place as the next Grand Duke of Tuscany. It might defy gravitation to lift water to Renaissance gardens, providing them in a way other late sixteenth century designs such as scenographic water exhibits, melodious water fountains and giochi d’acqua or water caprices, were not.