Where did Fountains Come From?

Where did Fountains Come From? The incredible architecture of a fountain allows it to provide clean water or shoot water high into air for dramatic effect and it can also serve as an excellent design feature to enhance your home.

From the beginning, outdoor fountains were simply there to serve as functional elements. Inhabitants of cities, townships and small towns utilized them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash, which meant that fountains had to be linked to nearby aqueduct or spring. Until the late 19th, century most water fountains operated 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. Acting as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. Bronze or stone masks of wildlife and heroes were commonly seen on Roman fountains. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages introduced fountains to their designs. The fountains found in the Gardens of Versailles were intended to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.

The end of the 19th century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. Fountains Come From? 810613459224866.jpg The creation of special water effects and the recycling of water were 2 things made possible by replacing gravity with mechanical pumps.

Contemporary fountains are used to embellish community spaces, honor individuals or events, and enrich recreational and entertainment events.

Rome’s Early Water Delivery Systems

Rome’s Early Water Delivery Systems With the construction of the very first elevated aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, individuals who lived on the city’s foothills no longer had to be dependent exclusively on naturally-occurring spring water for their needs. Over this period, there were only 2 other technologies capable of providing water to high areas, subterranean wells and cisterns, which gathered rainwater. To deliver water to Pincian Hill in the early 16th century, they applied the new method of redirecting the motion from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct’s underground channel. Through its original building and construction, pozzi (or manholes) were situated at set intervals along the aqueduct’s channel. Whilst these manholes were developed to make it less difficult to sustain the aqueduct, it was also feasible to use buckets to remove water from the channel, which was carried out by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he invested in the property in 1543 to his passing in 1552. It seems that, the rainwater cistern on his property wasn’t enough to meet his needs. That is when he made a decision to create an access point to the aqueduct that ran underneath his residence.