Where did Large Garden Fountains Come From?

Where did Large Garden Fountains Come From? Large Garden Fountains Come From? 129555764010352.jpg

A fountain, an incredible piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also launch water high into the air for a noteworthy effect.

From the beginning, outdoor fountains were soley meant to serve as functional elements. 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. 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 the power of gravity. Acting as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also provided clean, fresh drinking water. Roman fountains often depicted imagery of animals or heroes made of metal or stone masks. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to mimic the gardens of paradise. To demonstrate his prominence over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. 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 spot where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.

Indoor plumbing became the key source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby limiting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Gravity was substituted by mechanical pumps in order to enable fountains to bring in clean water and allow for amazing water displays.

These days, fountains decorate public areas and are used to pay tribute to individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.

The Dissemination of Water Feature Design Knowledge

The Dissemination of Water Feature Design Knowledge The published documents and illustrated publications of the day contributed to the evolution of scientific innovation, and were the chief methods of transmitting useful hydraulic information and water feature suggestions throughout Europe. In the late 1500's, a French water feature designer (whose name has been lost) was the internationally renowned hydraulics leader. His experience in making gardens and grottoes with integrated and brilliant water attributes began in Italy and with mandates in Brussels, London and Germany. He penned a publication named “The Principles of Moving Forces” toward the conclusion of his lifetime while in France which turned into the basic text on hydraulic mechanics and engineering. The publication updated key hydraulic breakthroughs since classical antiquity as well as detailing modern hydraulic technologies. Archimedes, the developer of the water screw, had his work highlighted and these integrated a mechanical means to move water. Natural light heated the water in a pair of hidden vessels adjacent to the ornamental fountain were shown in an illustration. What occurs is the heated liquid expanded, rises and locks up the pipes heading to the water feature, and thus leading to stimulation. Yard ponds as well as pumps, water wheels, and water feature concepts are talked about in the publication.