Modern Garden Decoration: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings
Modern Garden Decoration: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings The amazing or ornamental effect of a fountain is just one of the purposes it fulfills, as well as supplying drinking water and adding a decorative touch to your property.From the beginning, outdoor fountains were soley meant to serve as functional elements. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to provide potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains functioned using 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. Artists thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and celebrate the artist responsible for creating it. The main materials used by the Romans to build their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly illustrating animals or heroes. Throughout the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create smaller variations of the gardens of paradise. Fountains enjoyed a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exercise his power over nature. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot 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. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Modern fountains are used to embellish community spaces, honor individuals or events, and enrich recreational and entertainment events.
Public Water Fountains Lost to History
Public Water Fountains Lost to History