Where did Garden Water Fountains Come From?
Where did Garden Water Fountains Come From? A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to provide drinking water, as well as for decorative purposes. Originally, fountains only served a functional purpose. Residents of cities, townships and small towns used them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash, which meant that fountains needed to be linked to nearby aqueduct or spring. 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 the power of gravity. Acting as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also generated clean, fresh drinking water. Roman fountains usually depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of metal or stone masks. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. To demonstrate his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. 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.
Indoor plumbing became the key source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity allowed fountains to deliver recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Modern-day fountains function mostly as decoration for community spaces, to honor individuals or events, and enhance entertainment and recreational activities.
Beautiful Wall Elements
Beautiful Wall Elements Leave a fantastic impression on your loved ones by including a wall fountain in your interior design. The dazzling splendor a wall water feature lends to any area is in addition to the soft background sounds it produces. People will walk away with a memorable impression of the appealing sights and comforting sounds eminating from it. Even a living space with a modern design can be improved with a wall fountain. If you want to accentuate your modern-day decor, consider adding one made of stainless steel or glass. Is space limited in your house or place of work? A wall water fountain is perhaps the best choice for you. They take up no room since they are mounted on a wall. Busy entryways in commercial buildings are often adorned with one of these kinds of fountains. Wall fountains are not constrained to indoor use, however. Outdoor wall water features can be manufactured of fiberglass or resin. Spruce up your patio, courtyard, or other outdoor areas with a water fountain made of these weather-proof materials.
Wall fountains come in a variety of varying styles covering the modern to the traditional and rustic. You can choose the best style based upon your individual tastes. The materials utilzed to decorate a mountain lodge are different from that needed to beautify a high-rise apartment, the former perhaps requiring slate and the latter better served with sleek glass. You can choose the material most appropriate to your needs. Fountains are features which most certainly delight those who visit your home.
Acqua Vergine: The Solution to Rome's Water Problems
Acqua Vergine: The Solution to Rome's Water Problems With the manufacturing of the very first raised aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, folks who lived on the city’s hillsides no longer had to rely only on naturally-occurring spring water for their needs. Throughout this time period, there were only 2 other innovations capable of offering water to elevated areas, subterranean wells and cisterns, which accumulated rainwater. From the early sixteenth century, water was routed to Pincian Hill via the underground channel of Acqua Vergine. Throughout the length of the aqueduct’s network were pozzi, or manholes, that gave entry. Though they were primarily manufactured to make it possible to support the aqueduct, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi started out using the manholes to get water from the channel, commencing when he obtained the property in 1543. It seems that, the rainwater cistern on his property wasn’t enough to fulfill his needs.
To give himself with a much more useful system to obtain water, he had one of the manholes opened, providing him access to the aqueduct below his residence.