A Concise History of the Early Garden Water Features

A Concise History of the Early Garden Water Features Concise History Early Garden Water Features 514548640.jpg

The water from springs and other sources was initially delivered to the occupants of nearby communities and municipalities via water fountains, whose design was largely practical, not aesthetic. Gravity was the power source of water fountains up until the close of the nineteenth century, using the forceful power of water traveling down hill from a spring or creek to push the water through valves or other outlets. Commonly used as memorials and commemorative structures, water fountains have impressed men and women from all over the globe all through the centuries. When you see a fountain today, that is not what the very first water fountains looked like. Created for drinking water and ceremonial purposes, the 1st fountains were simple carved stone basins. 2,000 BC is when the earliest identified stone fountain basins were used. The first fountains used in ancient civilizations depended on gravity to control the flow of water through the fountain. Positioned near reservoirs or creeks, the practical public water fountains provided the local populace with fresh drinking water. Fountains with decorative Gods, mythological beasts, and animals began to appear in Rome in about 6 B.C., built from rock and bronze. The Romans had an intricate system of aqueducts that furnished the water for the many fountains that were located throughout the city.

The First Contemporary Outdoor Wall Fountains

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The First Contemporary Outdoor Wall Fountains Hundreds of classic Greek texts were translated into Latin under the auspices of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who ruled the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. He undertook the beautification of Rome to make it into the model capital of the Christian world. At the behest of the Pope, the Aqua Vergine, a ruined aqueduct which had transported clean drinking water into Rome from eight miles away, was renovated starting in 1453. A mostra, a monumental celebratory fountain constructed by ancient Romans to mark the point of entry of an aqueduct, was a custom which was revived by Nicholas V. At the bidding of the Pope, architect Leon Battista Alberti began the construction of a wall fountain in the place 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.

Creators of the First Water Features

Creators of the First Water Features Often working as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and highly educated scholars all in one, from the 16th to the late 18th century, fountain designers were multi-talented individuals, Leonardo da Vinci as a innovative master, inventor and scientific expert exemplified this Renaissance master. He methodically reported his examinations in his now celebrated notebooks about his investigations into the forces of nature and the properties and mobility of water. Transforming private villa settings into imaginative water showcases full of symbolic interpretation and natural wonder, early Italian fountain designers coupled imagination with hydraulic and horticultural abilities. The humanist Pirro Ligorio, renowned for his virtuosity in archeology, architecture and garden design, provided the vision behind the splendors in Tivoli. Masterminding the fascinating water marbles, water features and water antics for the numerous properties in the vicinity of Florence, some other water feature builders were well versed in humanistic issues as well as ancient technical texts.