The Original Public Water Features of History
The Original Public Water Features of History
Towns and communities relied on functional water fountains to channel water for cooking, washing, and cleaning from nearby sources like ponds, streams, or creeks. Gravity was the power source of water fountains up until the conclusion of the nineteenth century, using the potent power of water traveling downhill from a spring or brook to squeeze the water through spigots or other outlets. The elegance and wonder of fountains make them perfect for traditional memorials. If you saw the 1st fountains, you wouldn't recognize them as fountains. Basic stone basins created from local material were the very first fountains, used for religious ceremonies and drinking water. The earliest stone basins are suspected to be from about 2000 BC. Gravity was the energy source that controlled the earliest water fountains. Drinking water was supplied by public fountains, long before fountains became decorative public monuments, as attractive as they are practical. The people of Rome began creating elaborate fountains in 6 BC, most of which were bronze or natural stone masks of animals and mythological heroes. A well-designed system of reservoirs and aqueducts kept Rome's public fountains supplied with fresh water.
At What Point Did Water Fountains Originate?
At What Point Did Water Fountains Originate?
The translation of hundreds of classic Greek texts into Latin was commissioned by the learned Pope Nicholas V who ruled the Church in Rome from 1397 till 1455. In order to make Rome deserving of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope decided to enhance the beauty of the city. Beginning in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent restoration at the behest of the Pope. The ancient Roman tradition of marking the entry point of an aqueduct with an magnificent celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was directed by the Pope to build a wall fountain where we now find the Trevi Fountain. 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 reconstructed.
Where did Landscape Fountains Begin?
Where did Landscape Fountains Begin? A fountain, an incredible 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.
The central purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to provide potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up to the late 19th 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 jet high into the air. Fountains were an excellent source of water, and also served to decorate living areas and celebrate the designer. 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 versions of the gardens of paradise. To demonstrate his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains made to mark the arrival points 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. Gravity was substituted by mechanical pumps in order to permit fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the uses of modern-day fountains.