Contemporary Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Roots
Contemporary Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Roots The dramatic or decorative 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.The primary purpose of a fountain was originally strictly practical. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the vicinity. Used until the nineteenth century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their source of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from gravity. Acting as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also supplied clean, fresh drinking water. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often used by Romans to beautify their fountains. To replicate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. Fountains played a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to laud their positions by including 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 clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely decorative. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.