The Garden Fountains

The Garden Fountains As initially conceived, fountains were designed to be practical, directing water from creeks or aqueducts to the residents of towns and settlements, where the water could be used for cooking, washing, and drinking. To make water flow through a fountain until the later part of the 1800’s, and create a jet of water, demanded the force of gravity and a water source such as a spring or lake, positioned higher than the fountain. Fountains throughout history have been developed as memorials, impressing local citizens and travelers alike. Simple in design, the first water fountains did not appear much like contemporary fountains. Basic stone basins sculpted from local stone were the very first fountains, used for religious functions and drinking water. 2000 B.C. is when the earliest identified stone fountain basins were actually used. The first fountains used in ancient civilizations depended on gravity to control the movement of water through the fountain. These ancient fountains were built to be functional, commonly situated along reservoirs, creeks and rivers to supply drinking water. Fountains with ornamental Gods, mythological monsters, and animals began to appear in Rome in about 6 B.C., built from natural stone and bronze. The City of Rome had an intricate system of aqueducts that delivered the water for the many fountains that were situated throughout the urban center.

A Chronicle of Outdoor Fountains

A Chronicle of Outdoor Fountains Hundreds of ancient Greek documents were translated into Latin under the authority of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. In order to make Rome deserving of being the capital of the Christian world, the Pope resolved to enhance the beauty of the city. At the bidding of the Pope, the Aqua Vergine, a ruined aqueduct which had transported clean drinking water into Rome from eight miles away, was restored starting in 1453. The historical Roman custom of marking the entry point of an aqueduct with an imposing celebratory fountain, also known as a mostra, was restored by Nicholas V. The Trevi Fountain now occupies the space formerly filled with a wall fountain crafted by Leon Battista Albert, an architect commissioned by the Pope. The water which eventually furnished the Trevi Fountain as well as the acclaimed baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona flowed from the modified aqueduct which he had renovated.