Builders of the First Water Features
Builders of the First Water Features Water feature designers were multi-talented individuals from the 16th to the later part of the 18th century, often serving as architects, sculptors, artists, engineers and cultivated scholars all in one person. Leonardo da Vinci as a creative genius, inventor and scientific virtuoso exemplified this Renaissance creator. With his tremendous curiosity regarding the forces of nature, he investigated the attributes and mobility of water and also systematically annotated his examinations in his now famed notebooks. Brilliant water exhibits loaded with symbolic significance and natural wonder transformed private villa settings when early Italian fountain creators coupled creativity with hydraulic and gardening expertise. The humanist Pirro Ligorio brought the vision behind the splendors in Tivoli and was distinguished for his virtuosity in archeology, architecture and garden design. Well versed in humanistic themes as well as established technical texts, some other fountain makers were masterminding the extraordinary water marbles, water functions and water jokes for the various properties near Florence.From Where Did Water Features Emerge?
From Where Did Water Features Emerge? Hundreds of classic Greek texts were translated into Latin under the auspices of the scholarly Pope Nicholas V, who led the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455. Beautifying Rome and making it the worthy capital of the Christian world was at the heart of his objectives. 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, a grandiose celebratory fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the entry point of an aqueduct, was a custom revived by Nicholas V. The present-day location of the Trevi Fountain was once occupied by a wall fountain commissioned by the Pope and constructed by the architect Leon Battista Alberti. Changes and extensions, included in the restored aqueduct, eventually provided the Trevi Fountain and the well-known baroque fountains in the Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Navona with the necessary water supply.Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Originate from?
Where did Large Outdoor Fountains Originate 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 meant to serve as functional elements.
Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to supply them with drinking water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water source, including aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to benefit from gravity which fed the fountains. Artists thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to provide clean water and honor the designer responsible for creating it. The main components used by the Romans to create their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly illustrating animals or heroes. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners incorporated fountains to create mini depictions of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to illustrate his dominion over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries manufactured baroque decorative fountains to glorify the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the location where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
The end of the 19th century saw the rise in usage of indoor plumbing to provide drinking water, so urban fountains were relegated to strictly decorative elements. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to provide 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.