Where did Fountains Originate from?
Where did Fountains Originate from? 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. Originally, fountains only served a functional purpose. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to supply them with potable water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Up until the nineteenth, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water supply, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were an optimal source of water, and also served to adorn living areas and memorialize the artist. Bronze or stone masks of wildlife and heroes were frequently seen on Roman fountains. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create mini depictions of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to demonstrate his dominion over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for fresh, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely decorative. The introduction of special water effects and the recycling of water were 2 things made possible by replacing gravity with mechanical pumps.
Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for public spaces, to honor individuals or events, and compliment entertainment and recreational events.
Water Transport Solutions in Early Rome
Water Transport Solutions in Early Rome
Aqua Anio Vetus, the first raised aqueduct founded in Rome, started delivering the men and women living in the hills with water in 273 BC, even though they had relied on natural springs up until then. When aqueducts or springs weren’t accessible, people dwelling at raised elevations turned to water drawn from underground or rainwater, which was made possible by wells and cisterns. From the early sixteenth century, water was routed to Pincian Hill via the underground channel of Acqua Vergine. Pozzi, or manholes, were engineered at regular stretches along the aqueduct’s channel. The manholes made it easier to clean the channel, but it was also achievable to use buckets to pull water from the aqueduct, as we witnessed with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he operated the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he passed away. The cistern he had built to gather rainwater wasn’t sufficient to meet his water specifications. That is when he made a decision to create an access point to the aqueduct that ran underneath his residence.