Anglo Saxon Landscapes During the Norman Conquest
Anglo Saxon Landscapes During the Norman Conquest The Anglo-Saxon way of life was significantly changed by the appearance of the Normans in the later eleventh century. The skill of the Normans exceeded the Anglo-Saxons' in design and agriculture at the time of the conquest.
However the Normans had to pacify the entire territory before they could concentrate on home life, domestic architecture, and decoration. Castles were more basic designs and often erected on blustery hills, where their tenants spent both time and space to practicing offense and defense, while monasteries were major stone buildings, commonly positioned in the widest, most fruitful hollows. Gardening, a quiet occupation, was unfeasible in these unproductive fortifications. The purest specimen of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture existent today is Berkeley Castle. The keep is reported to have been conceived during the time of William the Conqueror. A spacious terrace meant for exercising and as a way to stop enemies from mining under the walls runs about the building. On one of these terraces lies a stylish bowling green: it is coated in grass and flanked by an old yew hedge that is formed into the shape of rough ramparts.
Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Water Fountains
Bernini: The Master of Italy's Greatest Water Fountains Bernini's earliest water fountain, named Barcaccia, is a breath taking work of art seen at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. Roman locals and site seers who appreciate verbal exchanges as well as being the company of others still flood this spot.
Today, the city streets surrounding Bernini's water fountain are a trendy place where people go to meet, something which the artist would have been pleased to learn. Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII mandated what was to be the very first water fountain of the master's career. People can now see the fountain as an illustration of a commanding ship gradually sinking into the Mediterranean. According to 16th century documents, a great flood of the Tevere covered the entire area in water, an event which was commemorated by the tremendous fountain. In 1665 Bernini traveled to France, in what was to be his sole lengthy absence from Italy.
Contemporary Garden Decoration: Garden Fountains and their Roots
Contemporary Garden Decoration: Garden Fountains and their Roots
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 an extraordinary effect. Pure practicality was the original purpose of fountains. Water fountains were connected to a spring or aqueduct to supply potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Used until the 19th century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their origin of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from the power of gravity. Acting as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also generated clean, fresh drinking water. The main components used by the Romans to build their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly illustrating animals or heroes. To illustrate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages introduced fountains to their designs. King Louis XIV of France wanted to demonstrate his dominion over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. To mark the entryway of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the construction of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts entered the city of Rome
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 ornamental. Gravity was replaced by mechanical pumps in order to permit fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Modern-day fountains function mostly as decoration for community spaces, to honor individuals or events, and compliment entertainment and recreational activities.