Modern Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Roots
Modern Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Roots
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. The central purpose of a fountain was originally strictly functional. Inhabitants of urban areas, townships and small towns utilized 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. Used until the 19th century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their origin of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from gravity. Artists thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and honor the artist responsible for building it. The main components used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners included fountains to create mini depictions of the gardens of paradise. To show 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 glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
The end of the nineteenth century saw the increase in usage of indoor plumbing to supply drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Nowadays, fountains decorate public spaces and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.
Acqua Vergine: The Remedy to Rome's Water Challenges
Acqua Vergine: The Remedy to Rome's Water Challenges With the development of the first raised aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, individuals who lived on the city’s hillsides no longer had to depend strictly on naturally-occurring spring water for their needs. Outside of these aqueducts and springs, wells and rainwater-collecting cisterns were the only techniques available at the time to supply water to spots of greater elevation. To supply water to Pincian Hill in the early sixteenth century, they utilized the brand-new approach of redirecting the flow from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct’s underground channel. Through its original building and construction, pozzi (or manholes) were positioned at set intervals alongside the aqueduct’s channel. The manholes made it less demanding to maintain the channel, but it was also possible to use buckets to extract water from the aqueduct, as we saw with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he bought the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he passed away. The cistern he had made to gather rainwater wasn’t satisfactory to meet his water specifications. To give himself with a much more effective system to obtain water, he had one of the manholes opened, providing him access to the aqueduct below his property.
Water Features Found in Historical Documents
Water Features Found in Historical Documents The water from springs and other sources was originally provided to the residents of nearby communities and municipalities by way of water fountains, whose design was largely practical, not artistic. In the days before electrical power, the spray of fountains was powered by gravity alone, often using an aqueduct or water source located far away in the surrounding mountains. Fountains spanning history have been developed as memorials, impressing local citizens and travelers alike. When you see a fountain nowadays, that is certainly not what the first water fountains looked like. Created for drinking water and ceremonial functions, the very first fountains were very simple carved stone basins. 2,000 BC is when the oldest identified stone fountain basins were used. Gravity was the energy source that controlled the oldest water fountains. Situated near reservoirs or creeks, the functional public water fountains supplied the local population with fresh drinking water. Fountains with ornate decoration began to appear in Rome in approx. 6 BC, normally gods and creatures, made with stone or copper-base alloy. The remarkable aqueducts of Rome furnished water to the eye-catching public fountains, most of which you can travel to today.
