Modern Garden Decor: Fountains and their Roots
Modern Garden Decor: Fountains and their Roots A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to provide drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes.Pure practicality was the original purpose of fountains. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to supply potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Until the late 19th, century most water fountains functioned using gravity to allow water to flow or jet into the air, therefore, they needed a source of water such as a reservoir or aqueduct located higher than the fountain. Fountains were not only utilized as a water source for drinking water, but also to adorn homes and celebrate the artist who created it.
Animals or heroes made of bronze or stone masks were often times used by Romans to decorate their fountains. Muslims and Moorish landscaping designers of the Middle Ages included fountains to re-create smaller versions of the gardens of paradise. The fountains found in the Gardens of Versailles were intended to show the power over nature held by King Louis XIV of France. Seventeen and 18 century Popes sought to exalt their positions by including decorative baroque-style fountains at the point where restored Roman aqueducts arrived into the city.
Urban fountains built at the end of the 19th century functioned only as decorative and celebratory adornments since indoor plumbing provided the essential drinking water. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity allowed fountains to bring recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Modern-day fountains serve mostly as decoration for open spaces, to honor individuals or events, and compliment entertainment and recreational gatherings.
The Beginnings of Contemporary Wall Fountains
The Beginnings of Contemporary Wall Fountains Pope Nicholas V, himself a learned man, governed the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455 during which time he commissioned many translations of ancient classic Greek texts into Latin.
It was imperative for him to beautify the city of Rome to make it worthy of being called the capital of the Christian world. Restoration of the Acqua Vergine, a desolate Roman aqueduct which had transported fresh drinking water into the city from eight miles away, began in 1453 at the behest of the Pope. Building a mostra, an imposing celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the entry point of an aqueduct, was a tradition revived by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was commissioned by the Pope to put up a wall fountain where we now find the Trevi Fountain. The aqueduct he had reconditioned 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.
Ancient Crete & The Minoans: Fountains
Ancient Crete & The Minoans: Fountains Various kinds of conduits have been uncovered through archaeological digs on the island of Crete, the cradle of Minoan society.
They were used for water supply as well as removal of storm water and wastewater. Stone and terracotta were the materials of choice for these channels. Whenever terracotta was utilized, it was normally for channels as well as pipes which came in rectangular or spherical patterns. The cone-like and U-shaped terracotta pipes which were discovered haven’t been seen in any other society. Knossos Palace had an state-of-the-art plumbing network made of terracotta pipes which ran up to three meters under ground. These Minoan conduits were also utilized for gathering and stocking water, not just circulation. This required the terracotta piping to be capable of holding water without losing it. Underground Water Transportation: the obscure process for water circulation may have been utilized to supply water to select individuals or functions. Quality Water Transportation: Considering the data, several historians suggest that these conduits were not connected to the common water allocation system, offering the palace with water from a various source.
Water Fountain Engineers Through History
Water Fountain Engineers Through History Often serving as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and highly educated scholars all in one, from the 16th to the later part of the 18th century, fountain designers were multi-faceted individuals, Leonardo da Vinci, a Renaissance artist, was celebrated as an creative master, inventor and scientific expert. The forces of nature led him to explore the properties and motion of water, and due to his curiosity, he methodically documented his findings in his now famed notebooks. Early Italian fountain designers altered private villa settings into inventive water showcases complete with emblematic meaning and natural elegance by coupling creativity with hydraulic and horticultural experience. The humanist Pirro Ligorio brought the vision behind the splendors in Tivoli and was recognized for his skill in archeology, architecture and garden design.
Well versed in humanist subject areas as well as classic scientific readings, some other water feature designers were masterminding the extraordinary water marbles, water properties and water jokes for the various properties around Florence.