A Short History of the Early Public Garden Fountains

A Short History of the Early Public Garden Fountains Water fountains were originally practical in function, used to convey water from rivers or springs to towns and villages, supplying the inhabitants with clean water to drink, wash, and cook with. Short History Early Public Garden Fountains 0785800663491.jpg

Short History Early Public Garden Fountains 0785800663491.jpg

To generate water flow through a fountain until the late 1800’s, and produce a jet of water, required the force of gravity and a water source such as a spring or lake, positioned higher than the fountain. Fountains spanning history have been designed as memorials, impressing hometown citizens and travelers alike. Crude in design, the 1st water fountains didn't look much like contemporary fountains. Created for drinking water and ceremonial functions, the first fountains were basic carved stone basins. The earliest stone basins are suspected to be from around 2000 B.C.. The earliest civilizations that utilized fountains depended on gravity to drive water through spigots. The placement of the fountains was influenced by the water source, which is why you’ll usually find them along reservoirs, canals, or rivers. Beasts, Gods, and spectral figures dominated the early decorative Roman fountains, starting to show up in about 6 BC. The Romans had an elaborate system of aqueducts that furnished the water for the numerous fountains that were located throughout the community.

The Beginnings of Modern Wall Fountains

The Beginnings of Modern Wall Fountains Hundreds of ancient Greek records were translated into Latin under the authority of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. He undertook the embellishment of Rome to make it into the model capital of the Christian world. In 1453 the Pope commissioned the repairing of the Aqua Vergine, an historic Roman aqueduct which had carried clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away. The ancient Roman custom of building an imposing commemorative fountain at the location where an aqueduct arrived, also known as a mostra, was revived by Nicholas V. At the bidding of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti began the construction of a wall fountain in the spot where we now find the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain as well as the well-known baroque fountains located in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the altered aqueduct he had reconstructed.