Contemporary Garden Decor: Outdoor Fountains and their Beginnings

Contemporary Garden Decor: Outdoor Fountains and their Beginnings A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to supply drinking water, as well as for decorative purposes.

Pure functionality was the original role of fountains. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with drinking water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Until the late nineteenth, century most water fountains functioned using gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a source of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain.Contemporary Garden Decor: Outdoor Fountains Beginnings 7433584414675594899.jpg Fountains were an optimal source of water, and also served to adorn living areas and celebrate the artist. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times utilized by Romans to beautify their fountains. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to re-create the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to demonstrate his superiority over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. To mark the entrance of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the building of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts entered the city of Rome

The end of the 19th century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. The creation of special water effects and the recycling of water were two things made possible by replacing gravity with mechanical pumps.

Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for community spaces, to honor individuals or events, and compliment entertainment and recreational events.

From Where Did Water Features Originate?

From Where Did Water Features Originate?Water Features Originate? 349947965461471.jpg The translation of hundreds of classic Greek documents into Latin was commissioned by the scholarly Pope Nicholas V who ruled the Church in Rome from 1397 until 1455. Beautifying Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the heart of his objectives. At the behest of the Pope, the Aqua Vergine, a damaged aqueduct which had transported clean drinking water into Rome from eight miles away, was renovated starting in 1453. Building a mostra, a grandiose commemorative fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the arrival point of an aqueduct, was a custom revived by Nicholas V. At the bidding of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti undertook the construction of a wall fountain in the spot 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 came from the modified aqueduct which he had renovated.

The Advantages of Installing an Interior Wall Water Fountain

The Advantages of Installing an Interior Wall Water Fountain Beautify and update your living space by including an indoor wall fountain in your house. Your home or workspace can become noise-free, hassle-free and tranquil areas for your family, friends, and clients when you have one of these fountains. An interior wall water feature such as this will also attract the recognition and appreciation of staff and customers alike. An interior water feature is certain to delight all those who see it while also impressing your loudest critics.

A wall fountain is a great addition to any home because it provides a tranquil spot where you sit and watch a favorite show after working all day. The musical sounds produced by an indoor water feature are known to release negative ions, remove dust and pollen from the air as well as sooth and pacify those in its vicinity.

Aqueducts: The Answer to Rome's Water Problems

Aqueducts: The Answer to Rome's Water Problems With the construction of the very first elevated aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, individuals who lived on the city’s foothills no longer had to depend strictly on naturally-occurring spring water for their demands.Aqueducts: Answer Rome's Water Problems 60546568460124.jpg When aqueducts or springs weren’t easily accessible, people dwelling at higher elevations turned to water drawn from underground or rainwater, which was made available by wells and cisterns. To deliver water to Pincian Hill in the early sixteenth century, they applied the emerging method of redirecting the current from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct’s underground network. Pozzi, or manholes, were engineered at regular stretches along the aqueduct’s channel. Whilst these manholes were provided to make it simpler and easier to protect the aqueduct, it was also possible to use containers to extract water from the channel, which was done by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he acquired the property in 1543 to his passing in 1552. The cistern he had constructed to collect rainwater wasn’t satisfactory to meet his water specifications. Fortunately, the aqueduct sat directly below his residence, and he had a shaft established to give him accessibility.
Characteristics of Outdoor Statuary in Archaic Greece The primitive Greeks manufactured the first freestanding statuary, an impressive achievement as most sculptures up until then had been reliefs cut into walls and pillars.... read more


The Godfather Of Roman Water Features In Rome’s city center, there are countless easily recognized public fountains.Gian Lorenzo Bernini, one of the best sculptors and artists of the 17th century designed, created and built almost all of them.... read more


Contemporary Garden Decor: Fountains and their Roots The dramatic or decorative effect of a fountain is just one of the purposes it fulfills, as well as supplying drinking water and adding a decorative touch to your property.... read more


Back Story of Garden Water Fountains Hundreds of ancient Greek texts were translated into Latin under the authority of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455.... read more