Modern Garden Decoration: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings
Modern Garden Decoration: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings The incredible architecture of a fountain allows it to provide clean water or shoot water high into air for dramatic effect and it can also serve as an excellent design feature to enhance your home. From the beginning, outdoor fountains were simply there to serve as functional elements. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the area. Up to the late nineteenth century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and higher than the fountain so that gravity could make the water move downwards or shoot high into the air. Acting as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. Bronze or stone masks of animals and heroes were frequently seen on Roman fountains. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages introduced fountains to their designs. The fountains found in the Gardens of Versailles were supposed to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured 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 main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby limiting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Modern-day fountains function mostly as decoration for open spaces, to honor individuals or events, and enhance entertainment and recreational events.
Outdoor Wall Fountains: An Amazing Sight
Outdoor Wall Fountains: An Amazing Sight A wall fountain can be an important design element in your home or workplace, enough so that it makes a good impression on your family and friends alike. In addition to the relaxing background sounds a wall water feature adds to any living space, it also imparts beauty. Guests will walk away with a memorable impression of the pleasing sights and comforting sounds coming from it. A wall fountain can contribute a great deal of charm, even to contemporary living areas. They can also add an element of chic to your decor since they are also available in modern-day materials including glass and stainless steel. Is your residence or office space in short supply? The perfect alternative for you is adding a wall water fountain. You can save your limited space by hanging one on a wall. Busy entryways in commercial buildings are often decorated with one of these types of fountains. Wall fountains are not limited to inside use, however. Exterior wall water features can be constructed of fiberglass or resin. Liven up your lawn, porch, or other outdoor space with a water fountain made of these waterproof materials.
There is wide array of unique styles in wall fountains running from the modern to classic and rustic. Your design ideas determine the most appropriate kind for your needs. A mountain lodge might require a conventional material such as slate whereas a high rise apartment might require sleek glass to enliven the interior space. The material you get depends solely on your design ideas. One thing is guaranteed, however, fountains are features which will no doubt dazzle your guests.
Aqueducts: The Solution to Rome's Water Troubles
Aqueducts: The Solution to Rome's Water Troubles Aqua Anio Vetus, the first raised aqueduct founded in Rome, started out supplying the many people living in the hills with water in 273 BC, though they had depended on natural springs up until then. If citizens residing at higher elevations did not have access to springs or the aqueduct, they’d have to rely on the remaining existing techniques of the time, cisterns that accumulated rainwater from the sky and subterranean wells that drew the water from under ground. To furnish water to Pincian Hill in the early 16th century, they employed the emerging method of redirecting the flow from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct’s underground network. Pozzi, or manholes, were made at standard intervals along the aqueduct’s channel. Though they were primarily developed to make it possible to service the aqueduct, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi started using the manholes to accumulate water from the channel, starting when he bought the property in 1543. Although the cardinal also had a cistern to collect rainwater, it couldn't supply enough water. That is when he made the decision to create an access point to the aqueduct that ran directly below his property.