The Outdoor Water Features
The Outdoor Water Features
The water from rivers and other sources was initially supplied to the residents of nearby towns and cities through water fountains, whose purpose was largely practical, not aesthetic. In the days before electrical power, the spray of fountains was powered by gravity exclusively, often using an aqueduct or water supply located far away in the surrounding mountains. Fountains all through history have been crafted as memorials, impressing hometown citizens and travelers alike. Rough in style, the 1st water fountains didn't appear much like modern-day fountains. A stone basin, carved from rock, was the very first fountain, used for containing water for drinking and religious purposes. The initial stone basins are presumed to be from about 2000 BC. Gravity was the power source that operated the earliest water fountains. The location of the fountains was influenced by the water source, which is why you’ll usually find them along aqueducts, canals, or rivers. Wildlife, Gods, and spectral figures dominated the early decorative Roman fountains, starting to show up in about 6 B.C.. Water for the community fountains of Rome arrived to the city via a complex system of water aqueducts.
Contemporary Garden Decoration: Garden Fountains and their Roots
Contemporary Garden Decoration: Garden Fountains and their Roots A fountain, an amazing piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for an extraordinary effect.Originally, fountains only served a practical purpose. Inhabitants of urban areas, townships and small towns used them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash up, which meant that fountains had to be linked to nearby aqueduct or spring. 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 flow down or jet high into the air. Acting as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times utilized by Romans to decorate their fountains.
Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller models of the gardens of paradise. Fountains played a significant role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. To mark the entrance of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the construction of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts arrived in the city of Rome
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental. Gravity was replaced by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for beautiful water displays.
Modern-day fountains function mostly as decoration for public spaces, to honor individuals or events, and enhance entertainment and recreational gatherings.