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 delivering drinking water and adding a decorative touch to your property. From the onset, outdoor fountains were simply there to serve as functional elements. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to supply them with potable water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Until the late 19th, century most water fountains functioned using 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 provided clean, fresh drinking water. The main components used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. Throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners incorporated fountains to create mini depictions of the gardens of paradise. The fountains seen in the Gardens of Versailles were intended to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. 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
Since indoor plumbing became the norm of the day for fresh, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental. Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Nowadays, fountains adorn public areas and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.
The Circulation of Outdoor Garden Fountain Engineering Knowledge in Europe
The Circulation of Outdoor Garden Fountain Engineering Knowledge in Europe Throughout the European countries, the primary means of dissiminating useful hydraulic facts and fountain design ideas were the published papers and illustrated books of the time, which contributed to the evolution of scientific development. An internationally celebrated leader in hydraulics in the later part of the 1500's was a French fountain designer, whose name has been lost to history. His know-how in designing gardens and grottoes with built-in and ingenious water fountains began in Italy and with commissions in Brussels, London and Germany. The book, “The Principles of Moving Forces,” written towards the end of his life in France, became the fundamental writing on hydraulic mechanics and engineering. The book updated crucial hydraulic discoveries since classical antiquity as well as detailing modern day hydraulic technologies.
Notable among these works were those of Archimedes, the inventor of the water screw, a mechanical means of moving water. A pair of undetectable vessels warmed by the sun's rays in an area next to the ornamental water fountain were presented in an illustration. Actuating the fountain is heated liquid that expands and ascends to close up the pipes. The publication also mentions garden ponds, water wheels, water feature concepts.