Early Water Supply Techniques in The City Of Rome
Early Water Supply Techniques in The City Of Rome Rome’s 1st elevated aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in 273 BC; prior to that, residents residing at higher elevations had to depend on natural streams for their water.
During this period, there were only 2 other technologies capable of offering water to higher areas, subterranean wells and cisterns, which gathered rainwater. Starting in the sixteenth century, a newer approach was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean sections to generate water to Pincian Hill. Through its initial construction, pozzi (or manholes) were located at set intervals along the aqueduct’s channel. Though they were initially developed to make it possible to support the aqueduct, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi started using the manholes to get water from the channel, starting when he bought the property in 1543. The cistern he had built to gather rainwater wasn’t sufficient to meet his water needs. Fortunately, the aqueduct sat below his residence, and he had a shaft established to give him access.
Where did Garden Water Fountains Originate from?
Where did Garden Water Fountains Originate from? A fountain, an incredible piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for an extraordinary effect.
Pure functionality was the original purpose of fountains. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to supply them with drinking water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Used until the nineteenth century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their origin of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from the power of gravity. Fountains were an optimal source of water, and also served to adorn living areas and celebrate the artist. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often used by Romans to decorate their fountains. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. The fountains seen in the Gardens of Versailles were supposed to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. 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 main 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 switching the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Contemporary fountains are used to adorn public spaces, honor individuals or events, and enrich recreational and entertainment events.