Where did Landscape Fountains Come From?

From the onset, outdoor fountains were simply meant to serve as functional elements. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the area. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be more elevated and closer to a water supply, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to take advantage of gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were not only used as a water source for drinking water, but also to decorate homes and celebrate the designer who created it. Roman fountains usually depicted images of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of the gardens of paradise. To demonstrate his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to supply drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Embellishing city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
Historic Crete & The Minoans: Garden Fountains
