Water Garden Fountains Lost to History

Water Garden Fountains Lost to History Water Garden Fountains Lost History 097877831923172767.jpg

Towns and villages relied on practical water fountains to channel water for preparing food, washing, and cleaning up from local sources like lakes, streams, or creeks. In the days before electrical power, the spray of fountains was driven by gravity only, commonly using an aqueduct or water resource located far away in the nearby hills. Frequently used as monuments and commemorative structures, water fountains have influenced travelers from all over the world all through the centuries. The contemporary fountains of modern times bear little similarity to the very first water fountains. Designed for drinking water and ceremonial functions, the very first fountains were basic carved stone basins. Stone basins are theorized to have been first utilized around 2,000 BC. The first fountains used in ancient civilizations relied on gravity to control the flow of water through the fountain. These original water fountains were built to be functional, commonly situated along aqueducts, creeks and waterways to furnish drinking water. The Romans began building decorative fountains in 6 B.C., most of which were bronze or natural stone masks of creatures and mythological characters. The City of Rome had an elaborate system of aqueducts that furnished the water for the numerous fountains that were placed throughout the city.

The Impact of the Norman Conquest on Anglo-Saxon Landscaping

The Impact of the Norman Conquest on Anglo-Saxon Landscaping The Anglo-Saxon way of life was significantly changed by the arrival of the Normans in the later eleventh century. The Normans were much better than the Anglo-Saxons at architecture and horticulture when they came into power. But the Normans had to pacify the whole territory before they could concentrate on home life, domestic architecture, and decoration. Because of this, castles were cruder structures than monasteries: Monasteries were frequently significant stone buildings set in the biggest and most fertile valleys, while castles were erected on windy crests where their citizens devoted time and space to tasks for offense and defense. Gardening, a placid occupation, was impracticable in these unproductive fortifications. Berkeley Castle is most likely the most complete model in existence at present of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture. The keep is said to date from William the Conqueror's time period. A monumental terrace serves as a discouraging factor to invaders who would try to mine the walls of the building. A scenic bowling green, enveloped in grass and enclosed by battlements cut out of an ancient yew hedge, forms one of the terraces.

Bernini’s First Italian Water Fountains

Bernini’s First Italian Water Fountains One can find Bernini's very first masterpiece, the Barcaccia fountain, at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will find Roman residents and vacation goers occupying this spot to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. Bernini’s First Italian Water Fountains 597833995167278.jpg

Bernini would undoubtedly have been happy to know that people still flock to what has become one the city's trendiest areas, that around his amazing fountain. In about 1630, the great master built the very first fountain of his career at the behest of Pope Ubano VIII. Depicted in the fountain's design is a great vessel slowly sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. According to 16th century texts, a great flood of the Tevere covered the entire area in water, an event which was memorialized by the tremendous fountain. Absenting himself from Italy only once in his life for a prolonged period of time, in 1665 Bernini voyaged to France.