Where did Landscape Fountains Come From?

Where did Landscape Fountains Come From? A fountain, an incredible piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for a noteworthy effect.

Pure practicality was the original role of fountains. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs nearby. 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 move downwards or jet high into the air. Fountains were an excellent source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and celebrate the designer. Landscape Fountains Come From? 114130168932493.jpg The main components used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly illustrating animals or heroes. Muslims and Moorish garden 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 Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were glorified with baroque style fountains built to mark the place of entry of Roman aqueducts.

Indoor plumbing became the key source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby limiting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. The creation of unique water effects and the recycling of water were two things made possible by replacing gravity with mechanical pumps.

These days, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to pay tribute to individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.

The History of Outdoor Water Fountains

The History of Outdoor Water Fountains The translation of hundreds of classic Greek texts into Latin was commissioned by the learned Pope Nicholas V who led the Church in Rome from 1397 till 1455. Embellishing Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the heart of his objectives. Restoration of the Acqua Vergine, a ruined Roman aqueduct which had transported clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away, began in 1453 at the bidding of the Pope. The ancient Roman custom of building an awe-inspiring commemorative fountain at the point where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the space formerly filled with a wall fountain crafted by Leon Battista Albert, an architect commissioned by the Pope. The Trevi Fountain as well as the well-known baroque fountains located in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the altered aqueduct he had rebuilt.