A Chronicle of Outdoor Water Fountains

A Chronicle of Outdoor Water Fountains Pope Nicholas V, himself a well educated man, ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455 during which time he commissioned many translations of ancient classical Greek texts into Latin. He undertook the beautification of Rome to turn it into the model capital of the Christian world. In 1453 the Pope instigated the rebuilding of the Aqua Vergine, an ancient Roman aqueduct which had carried fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away. A mostra, a monumental celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to mark the point of entry of an aqueduct, was a tradition which was revived by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was directed by the Pope to build a wall fountain where we now see the Trevi Fountain. Modifications and extensions, included in the restored aqueduct, eventually provided the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.

The Public Water Fountains

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The Public Water Fountains As initially developed, fountains were crafted to be functional, guiding water from streams or reservoirs to the citizens of cities and settlements, where the water could be used for cooking food, cleaning, and drinking. A supply of water higher in elevation than the fountain was necessary to pressurize the movement and send water squirting from the fountain's nozzle, a technology without equal until the later half of the nineteenth century. The splendor and wonder of fountains make them perfect for historical monuments. When you see a fountain today, that is certainly not what the 1st water fountains looked like. A natural stone basin, crafted from rock, was the 1st fountain, used for containing water for drinking and religious purposes. The original stone basins are thought to be from about 2000 BC. The spray of water appearing from small spouts was pushed by gravity, the sole power source creators had in those days. These historic fountains were designed to be functional, usually situated along aqueducts, creeks and rivers to furnish drinking water. The people of Rome began constructing ornate fountains in 6 BC, most of which were bronze or stone masks of animals and mythological characters. The City of Rome had an intricate system of aqueducts that supplied the water for the many fountains that were placed throughout the community.