The Origins Of Fountains
The Origins Of Fountains
A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to provide drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes. Originally, fountains only served a functional purpose. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the vicinity. 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 gravity. Artists thought of fountains as wonderful additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and celebrate the designer responsible for creating it. Roman fountains often depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks. Muslims and Moorish garden designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of 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. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to laud their positions by adding beautiful baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
The end of the 19th century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. The introduction of special water effects and the recycling of water were 2 things made possible by replacing gravity with mechanical pumps.
Modern fountains are used to embellish public spaces, honor individuals or events, and enhance recreational and entertainment events.
The Beginnings of Modern Outdoor Wall Fountains
The Beginnings of Modern Outdoor Wall Fountains The translation of hundreds of ancient Greek texts into Latin was commissioned by the scholarly Pope Nicholas V who ruled the Church in Rome from 1397 until 1455. He undertook the embellishment of Rome to turn it into the model capital of the Christian world. At the behest of the Pope, the Aqua Vergine, a damaged aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into Rome from eight miles away, was renovated starting in 1453. The historical Roman custom of marking the entry point of an aqueduct with an magnificent celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the space previously filled with a wall fountain built by Leon Battista Albert, an architect commissioned by the Pope.
The Trevi Fountain as well as the well-known baroque fountains located in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the altered aqueduct he had reconstructed.