Where did Garden Water Fountains Come From?
Where did Garden Water Fountains Come From?
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 an extraordinary effect. Originally, fountains only served a practical purpose. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to provide potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water source, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Acting as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also supplied clean, fresh drinking water. The main components used by the Romans to build their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. The fountains found in the Gardens of Versailles were meant to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. 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 location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
The end of the nineteenth century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity allowed fountains to provide recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Decorating city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the purposes of modern-day fountains.
A Chronicle of Wall Fountains
A Chronicle of Wall Fountains Himself a learned man, Pope Nicholas V led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 till 1455 and was responsible for the translation of hundreds of age-old documents from their original Greek into Latin. Beautifying Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the heart of his ambitions. In 1453 the Pope commissioned the rebuilding of the Aqua Vergine, an historic Roman aqueduct which had carried fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away. A mostra, a monumental celebratory fountain constructed by ancient Romans to mark the point of entry of an aqueduct, was a tradition which was restored by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the area formerly filled with a wall fountain crafted by Leon Battista Albert, an architect employed by the Pope. The Trevi Fountain as well as the renowned baroque fountains found in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the modified aqueduct he had rebuilt.
Bernini's Garden Fountains
Bernini's Garden Fountains There are countless celebrated fountains in the city center of Rome. Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the best sculptors and artists of the 17th century planned, conceived and built almost all of them. His abilities as a water fountain designer and also as a city architect, are observable all through the streets of Rome. A celebrated Florentine sculptor, Bernini's father guided his young son, and they ultimately transferred to Rome to totally exhibit their artwork, chiefly in the form of public water features and water features. The young Bernini received compliments from Popes and relevant artists alike, and was an diligent worker. Originally he was renowned for his sculpting skills. He made use of his expertise and melded it gracefully with Roman marble, most significantly in the Vatican. Though he was influenced by many, Michelangelo had the most serious effect on him, both personally and professionally.The Dispersion of Outdoor Fountain Design Knowledge
The Dispersion of Outdoor Fountain Design Knowledge
Throughout Europe, the principal means of dissiminating useful hydraulic information and fountain design suggestions were the circulated pamphlets and illustrated books of the time, which added to the evolution of scientific innovation. In the later part of the 1500's, a French water fountain designer (whose name has been lost) was the globally distinguished hydraulics leader. His competence in developing landscapes and grottoes with built-in and ingenious water features began in Italy and with commissions in Brussels, London and Germany. “The Principles of Moving Forces”, a publication which turned into the essential text on hydraulic mechanics and engineering, was written by him towards the end of his lifetime in France. Classical antiquity hydraulic advancements were detailed as well as revisions to crucial classical antiquity hydraulic advancements in the book. As a mechanical way to shift water, Archimedes made the water screw, chief among crucial hydraulic innovations. An beautiful water fountain with the sun heating the liquid in two vessels concealed in an nearby room was presented in one illustration. What occurs is the heated liquid expanded, rises and closes up the pipes heading to the fountain, consequently leading to activation. Garden ponds as well as pumps, water wheels, and water feature concepts are incorporated in the publication.