Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Originate from?
Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Originate from? A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for a noteworthy effect.Pure practicality was the original role of fountains. Residents of cities, townships and small towns used them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash, which meant that fountains needed to be connected to nearby aqueduct or spring. Until the late 19th, century most water fountains functioned using the force of gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a supply of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Fountains were an excellent source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and memorialize the artist. Roman fountains usually depicted images of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks.
To replicate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages introduced fountains to their designs. King Louis XIV of France wanted to demonstrate his dominion over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to laud their positions by adding beautiful baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for fresh, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely decorative. Gravity was substituted by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Embellishing city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
The Source of Today's Wall Fountains
The Source of Today's Wall Fountains
Himself a learned man, Pope Nicholas V headed the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 till 1455 and was responsible for the translation of hundreds of ancient documents from their original Greek into Latin. It was imperative for him to beautify the city of Rome to make it worthy of being known as the capital of the Christian world. In 1453 the Pope instigated the repairing of the Aqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct which had carried fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away. A mostra, a monumental commemorative fountain built by ancient Romans to mark the point of entry of an aqueduct, was a practice which was restored by Nicholas V. At the bidding of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti began the construction of a wall fountain in the place where we now find the Trevi Fountain. Modifications and extensions, included in the restored aqueduct, eventually provided the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.