Rome’s Early Water Delivery Solutions
Rome’s Early Water Delivery Solutions With the construction of the 1st raised aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, folks who lived on the city’s hillsides no longer had to rely strictly on naturally-occurring spring water for their needs. Outside of these aqueducts and springs, wells and rainwater-collecting cisterns were the sole technological innovations readily available at the time to supply water to segments of high elevation. From the beginning of the sixteenth century, water was routed to Pincian Hill by way of the underground channel of Acqua Vergine.
The aqueduct’s channel was made reachable by pozzi, or manholes, that were added along its length when it was first constructed. The manholes made it less demanding to thoroughly clean the channel, but it was also possible to use buckets to extract water from the aqueduct, as we saw with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he owned the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he died. Though the cardinal also had a cistern to amass rainwater, it didn’t produce sufficient water. That is when he decided to create an access point to the aqueduct that ran beneath his residence.
Where did Fountains Come From?
Where did 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.The central purpose of a fountain was originally strictly functional. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the vicinity. Up to the late 19th century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and higher than the fountain so that gravity could make the water flow downwards or jet high into the air.
Artists thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and celebrate the designer responsible for creating it. Bronze or stone masks of wildlife and heroes were commonly seen on Roman fountains. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of the gardens of paradise. Fountains played a significant role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Urban fountains created at the end of the nineteenth served only as decorative and celebratory ornaments since indoor plumbing provided the necessary drinking water. The creation of unique water effects and the recycling of water were 2 things made possible by replacing gravity with mechanical pumps.
Contemporary fountains are used to adorn community spaces, honor individuals or events, and enrich recreational and entertainment events.