Where did Fountains Come From?
Where did Fountains Come From? The incredible architecture of a fountain allows it to provide clean water or shoot water high into air for dramatic effect and it can also serve as an excellent design feature to complete your home.Originally, fountains only served a functional purpose. People in cities, towns and villages received their drinking water, as well as water to bathe and wash, via aqueducts or springs in the area. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water supply, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Fountains were not only used as a water source for drinking water, but also to adorn homes and celebrate the designer who created it. The main materials used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly depicting animals or heroes. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages introduced fountains to their designs. Fountains played a considerable role in the Gardens of Versailles, all part of French King Louis XIV’s desire to exert his power over nature. To mark the entrance 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
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental.
Amazing water effects and recycled water were made possible by replacing the power of gravity with mechanical pumps.
Modern fountains are used to adorn public spaces, honor individuals or events, and enrich recreational and entertainment events.
Acqua Vergine: The Answer to Rome's Water Problems
Acqua Vergine: The Answer to Rome's Water Problems Rome’s very first raised aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was built in 273 BC; before that, citizens residing at higher elevations had to depend on local creeks for their water. When aqueducts or springs weren’t accessible, people living at raised elevations turned to water drawn from underground or rainwater, which was made available by wells and cisterns. Starting in the sixteenth century, a new approach was introduced, using Acqua Vergine’s subterranean sections to deliver water to Pincian Hill. All through the length of the aqueduct’s route were pozzi, or manholes, that gave entry. The manholes made it more straightforward to clean the channel, but it was also possible to use buckets to extract water from the aqueduct, as we saw with Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi when he bought the property from 1543 to 1552, the year he passed away.
Reportedly, the rainwater cistern on his property wasn’t adequate to fulfill his needs. Fortunately, the aqueduct sat under his property, and he had a shaft established to give him access.