Modern Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings
Modern Garden Decor: Large Outdoor Water Fountains and their Beginnings A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to supply drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes.The primary purpose of a fountain was originally strictly functional. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs nearby. Up to the late nineteenth century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and more elevated than the fountain so that gravity could make the water flow downwards or jet high into the air. Designers thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and celebrate the artist responsible for creating it. The main materials used by the Romans to build their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden designers included fountains in their designs to re-create the gardens of paradise.
To show his dominance over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to exalt their positions by including beautiful baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
The end of the 19th century saw the increase in usage of indoor plumbing to supply drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to purely decorative elements. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the uses of modern-day fountains.
The Minoan Culture: Fountains
The Minoan Culture: Fountains Various kinds of conduits have been found through archaeological excavations on the island of Crete, the cradle of Minoan civilization. They not solely helped with the water sources, they extracted rainwater and wastewater as well. Most were prepared from terracotta or rock. Whenever terracotta was utilized, it was frequently for channels as well as pipes which came in rectangular or round patterns. These incorporated cone-like and U-shaped clay conduits which were unique to the Minoans. The water provision at Knossos Palace was handled with a strategy of terracotta piping which was placed under the floor, at depths varying from a few centimeters to several meters. The clay water lines were also used for collecting and storing water. These terracotta piping were needed to perform: Underground Water Transportation: Originally this technique would seem to have been designed not quite for ease but to provide water to chosen people or rituals without it being spotted. Quality Water Transportation: The water pipes could also have been utilized to move water to fountains that were different from the city’s normal process.The Origins of Modern Wall Fountains
The Origins of Modern Wall Fountains Hundreds of ancient Greek records were translated into Latin under the auspices of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. It was important for him to embellish the city of Rome to make it worthy of being called the capital of the Christian world. At the behest of the Pope, the Aqua Vergine, a ruined aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into Rome from eight miles away, was restored starting in 1453. The historical Roman tradition of marking the arrival point of an aqueduct with an imposing celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. At the bidding of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti undertook the construction of a wall fountain in the spot where we now find the Trevi Fountain. The aqueduct he had refurbished included modifications and extensions which eventually enabled it to supply water to the Trevi Fountain as well as the famed baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona.The Results of the Norman Conquest on Anglo Saxon Landscaping
The Results of the Norman Conquest on Anglo Saxon Landscaping
The introduction of the Normans in the second half of the eleventh century substantially altered The Anglo-Saxon ways of living. At the time of the conquest, the Normans surpassed the Anglo-Saxons in building design and cultivation. But before focusing on home-life or having the occasion to think about domestic architecture or decoration, the Normans had to subjugate an entire population. Monasteries and castles served different functions, so while monasteries were massive stone structures built in only the most productive, wide dales, castles were set upon blustery knolls where the occupants focused on learning offensive and defensive techniques. The bare fortresses did not provide for the peaceful avocation of farming. Berkeley Castle is probably the most intact model in existence at present of the early Anglo-Norman form of architecture. The keep is thought to date from the time of William the Conqueror. A monumental terrace serves as a hindrance to invaders who would try to mine the walls of the building. One of these terraces, a charming bowling green, is covered grass and flanked by an old yew hedge cut into the shape of crude battlements.