Where did Fountains Come From?
Where did Fountains Come From? The amazing or decorative effect of a fountain is just one of the purposes it fulfills, in addition to delivering drinking water and adding a decorative touch to your property.From the beginning, outdoor fountains were simply there to serve as functional elements.
Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with potable water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Used until the nineteenth century, in order for fountains to flow or shoot up into the air, their source of water such as reservoirs or aqueducts, had to be higher than the water fountain in order to benefit from gravity. Serving as an element of decoration and celebration, fountains also supplied clean, fresh drinking water. Bronze or stone masks of wildlife and heroes were commonly seen on Roman fountains. To depict the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. Fountains enjoyed a significant 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 building of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts entered the city of Rome
Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for fresh, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely decorative. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity enabled fountains to deliver recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Beautifying city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the uses of modern-day fountains.
Bernini’s Early Italian Water Fountains
Bernini’s Early Italian Water Fountains Bernini's earliest water fountain, named Barcaccia, is a masterful work of art found at the foot of the Trinita dei Monti in Piaza di Spagna. This area is still filled with Roman locals and tourists who like to exchanging gossip or going over the day's news. Today, the city streets around Bernini's water fountain are a trendy place where people go to gather, something which the artist would have been pleased to learn. Dating back to around 1630, Pope Urbano VIII mandated what was to be the very first water fountain of the artist's career.
A massive vessel slowly sinking into the Mediterranean is the fountain's central theme. Period writings dating back to the 16th century show that the fountain was constructed as a monument to those who lost their lives in the great flooding of the Tevere. In 1665, France was graced by Bernini's one-and-only extended voyage outside of Italy.