Contemporary Garden Decor: Fountains and their Beginnings
Contemporary Garden Decor: Fountains and their Beginnings A fountain, an incredible piece of engineering, not only supplies drinking water as it pours into a basin, it can also propel water high into the air for an extraordinary effect.The central purpose of a fountain was originally strictly functional. Inhabitants of urban areas, townships and small towns used them as a source of drinking water and a place to wash, which meant that fountains needed to be connected to nearby aqueduct or spring. Used until the nineteenth 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 the power of gravity. Fountains were not only utilized as a water source for drinking water, but also to decorate homes and celebrate the artist who created it. The main components used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. To replicate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. King Louis XIV of France wanted to demonstrate his dominion over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. To mark the entryway of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the construction of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts arrived in the city of Rome
Indoor plumbing became the main source of water by the end of the 19th century thereby limiting urban fountains to mere decorative elements. Impressive water effects and recycled water were made possible by switching the force of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for open spaces, to honor individuals or events, and enhance entertainment and recreational gatherings.
Acqua Vergine: The Remedy to Rome's Water Problems
Acqua Vergine: The Remedy to Rome's Water Problems With the construction of the 1st raised aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, individuals who lived on the city’s hills no longer had to rely entirely on naturally-occurring spring water for their needs. If people residing at higher elevations did not have access to springs or the aqueduct, they’d have to rely on the remaining existing techniques of the time, cisterns that accumulated rainwater from the sky and subterranean wells that drew the water from below ground. Beginning in the sixteenth century, a new program was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean sectors to generate water to Pincian Hill. During its original building and construction, pozzi (or manholes) were installed at set intervals alongside the aqueduct’s channel. The manholes made it easier to thoroughly clean the channel, but it was also possible to use buckets to pull water from the aqueduct, as we discovered with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he bought the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he passed away. He didn’t get a sufficient quantity of water from the cistern that he had built on his property to gather rainwater. Through an orifice to the aqueduct that ran underneath his property, he was able to satisfy his water needs.Wall Fountains: The Minoan Culture
Wall Fountains: The Minoan Culture Fountains and Water and the Minoan Civilization In combination with providing water, they dispersed water that gathered from storms or waste. Virtually all were created from clay or stone. There were clay conduits, both circular and rectangular as well as canals made from the same components. These included cone-like and U-shaped clay conduits that were unique to the Minoans. The water availability at Knossos Palace was maintained with a strategy of clay pipes which was positioned below the floor, at depths varying from a couple of centimeters to several meters. These Minoan water lines were also utilized for collecting and stocking water, not just circulation. To make this achievable, the piping had to be fashioned to handle: Below ground Water Transportation: This system’s unseen nature might mean that it was actually manufactured for some type of ritual or to distribute water to limited communities. Quality Water Transportation: Bearing in mind the data, several scholars suggest that these conduits were not hooked up to the prevalent water allocation process, providing the residence with water from a various source.