Where did Landscape Fountains Originate from?
Where did Landscape Fountains Originate from?
From the onset, outdoor fountains were simply meant to serve as functional elements. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to provide drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up until the nineteenth, fountains had to be more elevated and closer to a water source, including aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Acting as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also supplied clean, fresh drinking water. Bronze or stone masks of wildlife and heroes were frequently seen on Roman fountains. Muslims and Moorish garden 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 Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely decorative. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity enabled fountains to deliver recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Embellishing city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.