From Where Did Water Features Emerge?
From Where Did Water Features Emerge? Himself a highly educated man, Pope Nicholas V led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 till 1455 and was responsible for the translation of scores of ancient documents from their original Greek into Latin.
He undertook the beautification of Rome to turn it into the worthy capital of the Christian world. Beginning in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent restoration at the bidding of the Pope. Building a mostra, a grandiose commemorative fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the entry point of an aqueduct, was a tradition revived 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. Changes and extensions, included in the repaired aqueduct, eventually supplied the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.
Inventors of the First Water Fountains
Inventors of the First Water Fountains
Water fountain designers were multi-talented people from the 16th to the later part of the 18th century, often serving as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and highly educated scholars all in one. Throughout the Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci exemplified the artist as a innovative intellect, creator and scientific virtuoso. With his astounding curiosity about the forces of nature, he examined the properties and motion of water and carefully recorded his findings in his now recognized notebooks. Coupling creativity with hydraulic and horticultural mastery, early Italian fountain developers transformed private villa settings into innovative water displays loaded with symbolic meaning and natural charm. The brilliance in Tivoli were provided by the humanist Pirro Ligorio, who was widely known for his capabilities in archeology, architecture and garden design. Other water fountain developers, masterminding the incredible water marbles, water attributes and water jokes for the various mansions near Florence, were tried and tested in humanist subjects and traditional scientific readings.
A Concise History of the Early Water Garden Fountains
A Concise History of the Early Water Garden Fountains Water fountains were at first practical in function, used to convey water from rivers or creeks to cities and villages, providing the inhabitants with clean water to drink, bathe, and cook with. Gravity was the power supply of water fountains up until the close of the 19th century, using the potent power of water traveling downhill from a spring or brook to push the water through valves or other outlets.
Striking and impressive, large water fountains have been crafted as monuments in nearly all societies. If you saw the earliest fountains, you would not recognize them as fountains. Simple stone basins sculpted from nearby material were the very first fountains, used for spiritual purposes and drinking water. The oldest stone basins are presumed to be from about 2000 B.C.. The force of gravity was the power source that controlled the earliest water fountains. Situated near reservoirs or creeks, the functional public water fountains supplied the local residents with fresh drinking water. Animals, Gods, and religious figures dominated the early decorative Roman fountains, starting to appear in about 6 BC. The remarkable aqueducts of Rome delivered water to the eye-catching public fountains, most of which you can travel to today.
Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Come From?
Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Come From? A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to provide drinking water, as well as for decorative purposes. Pure practicality was the original purpose of fountains. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide 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. Designers thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and honor the designer responsible for creating it. Roman fountains often depicted images of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. Fountains enjoyed a significant role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created 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 restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. The introduction of unique water effects and the recycling of water were 2 things made possible by swapping gravity with mechanical pumps.
Contemporary fountains are used to embellish community spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.