Back Story of Outdoor Water Fountains

Back Story of Outdoor Water Fountains Hundreds of classic Greek texts were translated into Latin under the auspices of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. Embellishing Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the core of his objectives. At the bidding of the Pope, the Aqua Vergine, a damaged aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into Rome from eight miles away, was reconditioned starting in 1453. The ancient Roman custom of building an imposing commemorative fountain at the point where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was commissioned by the Pope to construct a wall fountain where we now see the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain as well as the renowned baroque fountains located in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the modified aqueduct he had reconstructed.

Acqua Vergine: The Answer to Rome's Water Problems

Acqua Vergine: The Answer to Rome's Water Problems Aqua Anio Vetus, the first raised aqueduct assembled in Rome, started out supplying the individuals living in the hills with water in 273 BC, although they had relied on natural springs up till then. If residents living at higher elevations did not have access to springs or the aqueduct, they’d have to rely on the remaining existing techniques of the time, cisterns that collected rainwater from the sky and subterranean wells that drew the water from below ground. To furnish water to Pincian Hill in the early sixteenth century, they implemented the brand-new approach of redirecting the current from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct’s underground channel. Spanning the length of the aqueduct’s network were pozzi, or manholes, that gave access. Although they were primarily developed to make it possible to service the aqueduct, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi began using the manholes to collect water from the channel, opening when he bought the property in 1543. He didn’t get adequate water from the cistern that he had manufactured on his property to collect rainwater. By using an orifice to the aqueduct that ran below his property, he was in a position to reach his water wants.

A Brief History of Early Public Garden Fountains

A Brief History of Early Public Garden Fountains The water from creeks and other sources was initially delivered to the residents of nearby communities and cities via water fountains, whose purpose was primarily practical, not aesthetic. To produce water flow through a fountain until the end of the 1800’s, and create a jet of water, mandated gravity and a water source such as a spring or lake, located higher than the fountain. Fountains spanning history have been crafted as memorials, impressing local citizens and visitors alike. The common fountains of today bear little similarity to the very first water fountains. Simple stone basins sculpted from nearby rock were the very first fountains, used for spiritual purposes and drinking water. Brief History Early Public Garden Fountains 9054099025.jpg

Brief History Early Public Garden Fountains 9054099025.jpg

Stone basins are thought to have been first utilized around 2,000 BC. Gravity was the energy source that controlled the oldest water fountains. Drinking water was supplied by public fountains, long before fountains became ornate public statues, as pretty as they are functional. Fountains with ornamental Gods, mythological monsters, and animals began to show up in Rome in about 6 B.C., crafted from stone and bronze. The people of Rome had an elaborate system of aqueducts that furnished the water for the many fountains that were situated throughout the urban center.