Contemporary Garden Decor: Fountains and their Beginnings
Contemporary Garden Decor: Fountains and their Beginnings 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 primary 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, from aqueducts or springs in the vicinity.
Up to the late nineteenth 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 shoot high into the air. Serving as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also generated clean, fresh drinking water. Bronze or stone masks of animals and heroes were frequently seen on Roman fountains. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. To show his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Indoor plumbing became the main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Nowadays, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.
Aqueducts: The Answer to Rome's Water Troubles
Aqueducts: The Answer to Rome's Water Troubles Aqua Anio Vetus, the first raised aqueduct founded in Rome, started out providing the men and women living in the hills with water in 273 BC, although they had counted on natural springs up until then.
Outside of these aqueducts and springs, wells and rainwater-collecting cisterns were the sole techniques obtainable at the time to supply water to areas of high elevation. Beginning in the sixteenth century, a new approach was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean sectors to deliver water to Pincian Hill. As originally constructed, the aqueduct was provided along the length of its channel with pozzi (manholes) constructed at regular intervals. While these manholes were manufactured to make it simpler and easier to maintain 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 acquired the property in 1543 to his death in 1552. The cistern he had built to obtain rainwater wasn’t adequate to meet his water specifications. To give himself with a more effective way to assemble water, he had one of the manholes opened up, giving him access to the aqueduct below his property.
Discover Peace with Garden Water Features
Discover Peace with Garden Water Features
Water adds peace to your garden environment. The loud noises in your neighborhood can be masked by the delicate sounds of a fountain. Nature and amusement are two of the things you will find in your garden. Bodies of water such as seas, oceans and rivers are commonly used in water therapies, as they are regarded as therapeutic. So if you desire a little piece of heaven nearby, a pond or fountain in your own garden is the answer.