A fountain (from the Latin "fons" or "fontis", a source or spring) is a piece of architecture which pours water into a basin or jets it into the air either to supply drinking water or for decorative or dramatic effect.
Fountains were originally purely functional, connected to springs or aqueducts and used to provide drinking water and water for bathing, but in ancient Rome they began to be used as decorative elements in gardens and courtyards. The art of fountains reached its peak in the fountains of the palaces of Moorish Spain in the 14th century; in the Italian Renaissance garden in the 15th and 16th century; in the fountains of the Gardens of Versailles in the seventeenth century; and the decorative fountains of Rome in the seventeenth and eighteenth century.
Fountains today may be practical, such as drinking fountains and village fountains which provide clean drinking water; or designed for recreation, such as splash fountains, where residents can cool off in summer; or ornamental, decorating city parks and squares and home gardens.
Fountains may be wall fountains or free-standing. In fountains sheets of water may flow over varied surfaces of stone, concrete or metal. Basins may overflow from one into another, or the overflow may imitate a natural cascade. Many fountains are located in small, artificial, ornamental ponds, basins and formal garden pools, and often they include sculpture.
Until the 20th century fountains depended upon gravity to make water spout or spray in the air, but modern fountains can use mechancial pumps. A famous example is the Jet d'Eau in Lake Geneva, which shoots water 140 meters in the air. The highest such fountain in the world is King Fahd's Fountain in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which rises 260 meters (853 feet) above the Red Sea.. The musical fountain combines moving jets of water, colored lights and recorded music, controlled by a computer, for dramatic effects.
History of fountains
Ancient Greek fountains
Whether a civilization had fountains depended mostly upon whether its water supply was above or below the level of its cities. The ancient Egyptians had ingenious systems for hoisting water up from the Nile for drinking and irrigation, so they apparently had no need for fountains. The Romans and Greeks brought water down from the mountains via aqueducts; since the source was higher than the outlet, their cities had fountains which spouted or poured water into basins as sources of drinking water. - Fountains existed in Athens, Corinth, and other ancient Greek cities in the 6th century B.C. as the terminating points of aqueducts which brought water from springs and rivers into the cities. In the 6th century b.c. the Athenian ruler Peisistratos built the main fountain of Athens, the Enneacrounos , in the Agora, or main square. It had nine large cannons, or spouts, which supplied drinking water to local residents.
Greek fountains were made of stone or marble, with water flowing through bronze pipes and emerging from the mouth of a sculpted mask that represented the head of a lion or the muzzle of an animal. Most Greek fountains flowed by simple gravity, but they also discovered how to use water pressure and the principle of a siphon to make water jet or spout, as seen in pictures on Greek vases (see illustration)..
Ancient Roman fountains
The Romans, with an extensive and sophisticated system of aqueducts used to supply their drinking water, irrigation water and water for Roman baths, advanced the art and technology of fountain design. Roman engineers used lead pipes instead of bronze. The excavations at Pompeii, which revealed the city as it was when it was destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, uncovered free-standing fountains and basins placed at intervals along city streets, fed by siphoning water upwards from lead pipes under the street.
The excavations of Pompeii also showed that the homes of wealthy Romans often had a small fountain in the atrium, or interior courtyard, with water coming from city water supply and spouting into a small bowl or basin.(See illustration).
Rome itself was filled with fountains. According to Sextus Julius Frontinus, the Roman consul who was named curator aquarum or guardian of the water of Rome in 98 A.D., Rome had nine aqueducts which fed 39 monumental fountains and 591 public basins, not counting the water supplied to the Imperial household, baths and owners of private villas. Each of the major fountains was connected to two different aqueducts, in case one was shut down for service.
The Romans were able to make fountains jet water into the air, by using the pressure of water flowing from a distant and higher source of water to create hydraulic head, or force. Illustrations of fountains in gardens spouting water are found on wall paintings in Rome from the first century B.C., and in the villas of Pompeii.. The Villa of Hadrian in Tivoli featured a large swimming basin with jets of water. Pliny the Younger described the banquet room of a Roman villa where a fountain began to jet water when visitors sat on a marble seat. The water flowed into a basin, where the courses of a banquet were served in floating dishes shaped like boats..
One original Roman fountain can still be seen today. The Fontana della Pigna is a large bronze pine cone, from the 1st Century A.D., which originally spouted water from the top. It originally stood next to the Temple of Isis in the Roman Forum then was moved to the courtyard of the old St. Peter's Basilica, where it was seen and described by Dante. In the 15th century it was moved to a niche in the courtyard between the new Vatican Palace and the Belvedere Palace, on the Cortile della Pigna.
Medieval fountains
During the Middle Ages, Roman aqueducts were wrecked or fell into decay, and few fountains continued working. Fountains were found mainly in the cloisters of monasteries or the small enclosed gardens of the nobility.
Fountains in the Middle Ages were associated with the source of life, purity, wisdom, innocence, and the Garden of Eden.. In illuminated manuscripts like the Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (1411-1416), the Garden of Eden was shown with a graceful gothic fountain in the center. (see illustration).
The cloister of a monastery was supposed to be a replica of the Garden of Eden, protected from the outside world. Simple fountains, called lavabos, were placed inside Medieval monasteries such as Le Thoronet Abbey in Provence and were used for ritual washing before religious services.
Fountains were also found in the enclosed medieval jardins d'amour , "gardens of courtly love" - ornamental gardens used for courtship and relaxion. The medieval romance The Roman de la Rose describes a fountain in the center of an enclosed garden, feeding small streams bordered by flowers and fresh herbs.
Some Medieval fountains, like the cathedrals of their time, illustrated biblical stories, local history and the virtues of their time. The Fontana Maggiore in Perugia, dedicated in 1278, is decorated with stone carvings representing prophets and saints, allegories of the arts, labors of the months, the signs of the zodiac, and scenes from Genesis and Roman history..
Medieval fountains, in the grim times of the Middle Ages, could also provide amusement. The gardens of the Counts of Artois at the Chateau de Herdin, built in 1295, contained famous fountains, called Les Merveilles de Herdin which could be triggered to drench surprised visitors.
Moorish fountains
The palaces of Moorish Spain, particularly the Alhambra in Granada, had famous fountains. The patio of the Sultan in the gardens of Generalife in Granada (1319) featur
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