The Root of Contemporary Outdoor Wall Fountains
The Root of Contemporary Outdoor Wall Fountains The translation of hundreds of classical Greek documents into Latin was commissioned by the learned Pope Nicholas V who ruled the Church in Rome from 1397 until 1455.
It was important for him to embellish the city of Rome to make it worthy of being known as the capital of the Christian world. In 1453 the Pope instigated the rebuilding of the Aqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away. A mostra, a monumental celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to mark the point of entry of an aqueduct, was a custom which was restored by Nicholas V. At the behest of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti began the construction of a wall fountain in the spot where we now find the Trevi Fountain. Changes and extensions, included in the repaired aqueduct, eventually provided the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.
The Origins Of Wall Fountains
The Origins Of Wall Fountains
A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for a noteworthy effect. Originally, fountains only served a practical purpose. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with potable water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains operated 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. Designers thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and celebrate the designer responsible for building it. The main components used by the Romans to build their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly illustrating animals or heroes. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to mimic 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 Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries were extolled with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Since indoor plumbing became the norm 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 ornamental. The creation of unique water effects and the recycling of water were 2 things made possible by swapping gravity with mechanical pumps.
Decorating city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.