The Source of Modern Outdoor Fountains
The Source of Modern Outdoor Fountains Hundreds of classic Greek records were translated into Latin under the authority of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. In order to make Rome worthy of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope resolved to embellish the beauty of the city.
Restoration of the Acqua Vergine, a desolate Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away, began in 1453 at the bidding of the Pope. The ancient Roman custom of marking the arrival point of an aqueduct with an imposing celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. At the behest of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti undertook the construction of a wall fountain in the place where we now find the Trevi Fountain. The water which eventually provided the Trevi Fountain as well as the acclaimed baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona flowed from the modified aqueduct which he had renovated.
Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Most Impressive Water Fountains
Bernini: The Genius Behind Italy's Most Impressive Water Fountains The Barcaccia, Bernini's first fountain, is a magnificent chef d'oeuvre built at the base of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. To this day, you will find Roman locals and vacation goers filling this space to revel in chit chatter and being among other people. Today, the city streets surrounding Bernini's water fountain are a trendy place where people go to gather, 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 artist's career. Illustrated in the fountain's design is a great vessel gradually sinking into the Mediterranean Sea. The great flooding of the Tevere that blanketed the whole region with water in the 16th was commemorated by this momentous fountain as recorded by documents dating back to this period. In 1665 Bernini journeyed to France, in what was to be his sole prolonged absence from Italy.Contemporary Garden Decoration: Garden Fountains and their Beginnings
Contemporary Garden Decoration: Garden Fountains and their Beginnings 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.Pure practicality was the original purpose of fountains. Inhabitants 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. Up until the nineteenth, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water source, including aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to take advantage of gravity which fed the fountains.
Fountains were not only utilized as a water source for drinking water, but also to decorate homes and celebrate the designer who created it. The main materials used by the Romans to build their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. To illustrate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages introduced fountains to their designs. Fountains enjoyed a significant 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 glorified with baroque style fountains constructed to mark the arrival points of Roman aqueducts.
Urban fountains built at the end of the 19th century functioned only as decorative and celebratory adornments since indoor plumbing provided the necessary drinking water. Gravity was substituted by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Decorating city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the functions of modern-day fountains.
Outdoor Water Features Lost to History
Outdoor Water Features Lost to History The water from rivers and other sources was originally supplied to the citizens of nearby communities and cities through water fountains, whose purpose was primarily practical, not aesthetic. In the days before electrical power, the spray of fountains was driven by gravity exclusively, often using an aqueduct or water source located far away in the nearby mountains. Typically used as monuments and commemorative structures, water fountains have influenced travelers from all over the planet all through the centuries. When you see a fountain nowadays, that is certainly not what the very first water fountains looked like. Created for drinking water and ceremonial purposes, the very first fountains were very simple carved stone basins. The initial stone basins are thought to be from around 2000 B.C..
Early fountains used in ancient civilizations depended on gravity to control the flow of water through the fountain. These historic fountains were created to be functional, often situated along reservoirs, creeks and rivers to supply drinking water. Fountains with ornate decoration began to appear in Rome in approx. 6 BC, usually gods and animals, made with stone or copper-base alloy. The City of Rome had an elaborate system of aqueducts that furnished the water for the many fountains that were placed throughout the urban center.