Where did Large Garden Fountains Come From?
Where did Large Garden 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 supply drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes.Pure practicality was the original purpose of fountains. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to supply drinkable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages.
Up to the late nineteenth century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and more elevated than the fountain so that gravity could make the water flow downwards or jet high into the air. Acting as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. The main materials used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to mimic the gardens of paradise. The fountains found in the Gardens of Versailles were meant to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured 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.
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. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for community spaces, to honor individuals or events, and enhance entertainment and recreational events.
Creators of the First Fountains
Creators of the First Fountains Multi-talented individuals, fountain designers from the 16th to the late 18th century often worked as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one person. Exemplifying the Renaissance artist as a creative genius, Leonardo da Vinci toiled as an innovator and scientific specialist. The forces of nature led him to investigate the properties and movement of water, and due to his curiosity, he methodically recorded his experiences in his now celebrated notebooks. Early Italian water feature engineers transformed private villa configurations into amazing water showcases full with symbolic meaning and natural charm by combining imagination with hydraulic and horticultural expertise. Known for his incredible skill in archeology, design and garden design, Pirro Ligorio, the humanist, delivered the vision behind the magnificence in Tivoli. For the assorted properties near Florence, other water feature builders were well versed in humanist subject areas and classical scientific texts, masterminding the phenomenal water marbles, water features and water jokes.
How Mechanical Concepts of Fountains Spread
How Mechanical Concepts of Fountains Spread Instrumental to the development of scientific technology were the published papers and illustrated books of the day. They were also the main means of transmitting useful hydraulic ideas and fountain design ideas throughout Europe. An un-named French water feature designer was an internationally famed hydraulic pioneer in the later part of the 1500's. By developing landscapes and grottoes with incorporated and amazing water attributes, he started off his occupation in Italy by earning Royal mandates in Brussels, London and Germany. In France, towards the closure of his life, he penned “The Principle of Moving Forces”, a book which turned into the essential text on hydraulic technology and engineering.
Classical antiquity hydraulic developments were elaborated as well as updates to crucial classical antiquity hydraulic breakthroughs in the book. Prominent among these works were those of Archimedes, the creator of the water screw, a mechanical means of moving water. Two undetectable containers heated up by the sun's rays in a area next to the ornamental water feature were shown in an illustration. The end result: the water feature is triggered by the hot water expanding and rising up the piping. Pumps, water wheels, water attributes and backyard pond concepts are included in the publication.