Modern Garden Decoration: Fountains and their Roots
Modern Garden Decoration: Fountains and their Roots 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. The primary purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to provide drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water supply, including aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to take advantage of gravity which fed the fountains. Artists thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and honor the designer responsible for creating it. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times used by Romans to decorate their fountains. Muslims and Moorish garden designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of the gardens of paradise. Fountains played a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. To mark the entrance of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the construction of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts arrived in the city of Rome
Indoor plumbing became the key source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Nowadays, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.
A Brief History of Early Public Water Features
A Brief History of Early Public Water Features Villages and communities depended on working water fountains to channel water for cooking, washing, and cleaning from local sources like ponds, streams, or springs. In the days before electric power, the spray of fountains was powered by gravity alone, usually using an aqueduct or water resource located far away in the surrounding hills. Frequently used as monuments and commemorative structures, water fountains have influenced people from all over the globe all through the ages. Simple in design, the first water fountains didn't look much like modern fountains. A natural stone basin, carved from rock, was the 1st fountain, utilized for containing water for drinking and ceremonial purposes. Rock basins as fountains have been found from 2000 BC.
Gravity was the power source that operated the earliest water fountains. Drinking water was provided by public fountains, long before fountains became ornate public statues, as pretty as they are functional. Fountains with elaborate decoration started to appear in Rome in about 6 B.C., normally gods and wildlife, made with stone or bronze. The remarkable aqueducts of Rome supplied water to the spectacular public fountains, many of which you can go see today.
Discover Peace with Outdoor Water Features
Discover Peace with Outdoor Water Features You can find harmony and tranquility by simply having water in your garden. The sounds of a fountain are great to drown out the noise in your neighborhood or in the city where you live. This is the perfect spot to relax and experience nature near you. Considered a great rehabilitation element, many water treatments use big bodies of water such as seas, oceans and rivers in their treatments. If what you seek out is a calming place where you can take your body and your mind to a faraway place, set up a pond or fountain in your garden.
The Impact of the Norman Invasion on Anglo Saxon Landscaping
The Impact of the Norman Invasion on Anglo Saxon Landscaping The introduction of the Normans in the latter half of the eleventh century significantly altered The Anglo-Saxon ways of living. The talent of the Normans exceeded the Anglo-Saxons' in design and agriculture at the time of the conquest. However, there was no time for home life, domesticated design, and adornment until the Normans had conquered the whole realm. Monasteries and castles served separate functions, so while monasteries were massive stone structures assembled in only the most fruitful, wide dales, castles were set upon blustery knolls where the residents focused on understanding offensive and defensive techniques. Gardening, a placid occupation, was impracticable in these unproductive fortifications. The finest example of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture existent presently is Berkeley Castle. The keep is thought to date from the time of William the Conqueror. An enormous terrace encompasses the building, serving as an impediment to assailants wanting to dig under the castle walls. On one of these terraces sits a quaint bowling green: it's coated in grass and flanked by an old yew hedge that is created into the shape of rough ramparts.