Where did Landscape Fountains Come From?
Where did Landscape Fountains Come From? A fountain, an incredible piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for a noteworthy effect.Pure functionality was the original purpose of fountains. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, from aqueducts or springs in the vicinity. 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 jet high into the air. Fountains were an optimal source of water, and also served to adorn living areas and memorialize the artist. Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often used 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.
The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Indoor plumbing became the main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby restricting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Nowadays, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to recognize individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.
Did You Know How Technical Designs And Styles of Water Fountains Became Known?
Did You Know How Technical Designs And Styles of Water Fountains Became Known? The circulated papers and illustrated books of the day contributed to the advancements of scientific innovation, and were the primary methods of dissiminating practical hydraulic facts and water feature ideas throughout Europe. An un-named French fountain developer was an internationally celebrated hydraulic pioneer in the late 1500's.
His expertise in designing gardens and grottoes with built-in and ingenious water fountains began in Italy and with mandates in Brussels, London and Germany. In France, towards the closure of his lifetime, he published “The Principle of Moving Forces”, a book that became the primary text on hydraulic technology and engineering. Detailing modern hydraulic technologies, the publication also modified key hydraulic developments of classical antiquity. The water screw, a mechanical method to move water, and developed by Archimedes, was showcased in the book. Two hidden vessels heated up by sunlight in an room adjacent to the ornamental water fountain were found in an illustration. Actuating the water fountain is heated water that expands and ascends to close up the pipes. Pumps, water wheels, water attributes and backyard pond styles are documented in the publication.