The Origins Of Garden Fountains
The Origins Of Garden Fountains A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for a noteworthy effect.The main purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to provide potable 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 move down or shoot high into the air. Fountains were an excellent source of water, and also served to adorn living areas and memorialize the designer. Roman fountains often depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks. Muslims and Moorish garden designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of the gardens of paradise.
To demonstrate his dominance over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured 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 limiting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to bring recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the purposes of modern-day fountains.
The Magificent First Masterpieces by Bernini
The Magificent First Masterpieces by Bernini The Barcaccia, Bernini's very first water fountain, is a magnificent chef d'oeuvre built at the bottom of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. This area continues to be filled with Roman locals and tourists who enjoy exchanging gossip or going over the day's news. One of the city’s most fashionable meeting spots are the streets surrounding Bernini's fountain, which would undoubtedly have brought a smile to the great Bernini.
Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII commissioned what was to be the earliest water fountain of the artist's career. Depicted in the fountain's design is a large ship slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. The great 16th century flooding of the Tevere, which left the entire region inundated with water, was memorialized by the fountain according to writings from the time. In what turned out to be his sole prolonged absence from Italy, Bernini {journeyed | traveled] to France in 1665.