6.1. The Byzantine Period (ca. 4th c–15th c. AD)
During the early Byzantine period, the structures and technologies of the fountains adhered to Roman tradition and customs. Fewer were constructed and the know-how of the past vanished. The densely built settlements also had less room for elaborate and impressive fountains.
On the other hand, the powerful and wealthy clergy of that period constructed well-designed fountains for churches and, especially, monasteries which survived raids and destruction because of their location (
Figure 22 and
Figure 23).The typical fountains of that time were the simple arched niches either attached to a building wall or the more rare stand-alone ones where a stone or basin received the water flowing out of a simple or slightly ornamented spout.
Figure 22.
Typical structures of fountains in monasteries of the Byzantine period: (a) Faneromeni in Korinth; (b) Daou, Penteli, Attica; and (c) Filotheou in Mount Athos.
Figure 22.
Typical structures of fountains in monasteries of the Byzantine period: (a) Faneromeni in Korinth; (b) Daou, Penteli, Attica; and (c) Filotheou in Mount Athos.
Figure 23.
Typical structures of fountains in the Byzantine period.
Figure 23.
Typical structures of fountains in the Byzantine period.
Despite the general simplicity, there were also fountains constructed in a more elaborate manner. The stand-alone domed constructions embody the constructional technologies of the arches, domes, colonnades and tie beams of that period. The well elaborated examples also show the typical Byzantine types of masonry. As concerns water supply, it was implemented by the regular methods of the era as mentioned below (
Figure 24 and
Figure 25):
Figure 24.
The well elaborated examples show also the typical Byzantine types of masonry.
Figure 24.
The well elaborated examples show also the typical Byzantine types of masonry.
Figure 25.
(a) Meg. Lavras Monastery (ca. 1060 AD) and (b) Batopedi Monastery.
Figure 25.
(a) Meg. Lavras Monastery (ca. 1060 AD) and (b) Batopedi Monastery.
The most characteristic fountain of the Byzantine period is the “phiale”. It had a dome which covered a circular shallow basin at the center, where the holy water was during the various rituals of the monastery. A low parapet separated the covered space from the yard around it. There was no natural flow of water to the basin. Yet, traces of the existence of a “strobilion” which jets water up at the center of the circular basin have been found.
Generally, the water supply for most fountains in Byzantium was provided through springs and pre-existing aqueduct systems. Most underground water harvesting networks had ceased operating or were no longer maintained. Thus, it is likely that the water conveyance systems were not operating well during the last period of the Byzantine Empire. Only in areas conquered by Westerners were the major supply systems functioning a little better.
6.2. Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Times in Western Europe (ca. 450–1700)
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the great barbaric invasions transformed the empire into a multitude of independent little states, with ever changing boundaries and rulers, in a semi-permanent state of war. During these times, due to the combined effects of natural wear, lack of maintenance and wars, the great aqueducts fell into ruin: a great and complex aqueduct system can only be built and function in a region at peace under the control of one centralized political power with substantial economic resources [
36]. With a few notable exceptions, none of these conditions existed in Western Europe from the 5th to the 15th century AD. Consequently, the great Roman fountains, as well as the networks of little city fountains built for public service, were in ruin all over Western Europe until about the 12th century AD. Water supply also generally declined significantly along with the number of the fountains. That is reflected in the scarcity of medieval fountains, which were small, simple, and often made of materials taken from ancient monuments. During the Early Middle Ages, water management was of high quality only in the East Roman Empire (
i.e., the Byzantine Empire) and the Islamic kingdoms. In Western Europe, Islamic Spain had an excellent standard of water technology for irrigation, water supply and fountains. In Islamic Spain, old Roman aqueducts were repaired, new ones were constructed, and public and private fountains were built. The description of Islamic water management in Spain would require a separate book. Here, it must suffice to remember that Islamic culture adsorbed and applied Greek and Roman water technology. Under Islamic rule, new inventions were added to the ancient water technology, including the sophisticated pumps of Ibn al-Jazari, who lived
ca. 11th–12th centuries AD [
48]. Today, the fountains built in Spain under Islamic rulers constitute a well-known cultural attraction. They are in general much smaller than the great Roman ones, but they are fascinating for their grace and calm beauty (
Figure 26).
In Medieval Western Europe, the technology for water supply and fountains was preserved thanks to the monasteries and abbeys. These were sort of autonomous communities, where water was needed for daily life, and often for irrigation of orchards and gardens. Gardens with fountains were seen as mystic places, a sort of earthly equivalent of Paradise (or the Garden of Eden), by both Christians and Muslims. In abbeys and monasteries, water was not only used for washing and other daily purposes, but also in the religious rite of cleansing hands before services and meals [
49]. Wells were not efficient enough so, whenever possible, water was brought into religious communities and delivered through one or more fountains. As they were used simultaneously by many people, they had to have a large circular, polygonal or rectangular basin with multiple taps for discharging water (
Figure 27 and
Figure 28).
Figure 26.
Granada, Alhambra, Fountains of the Lions, ca. 11th century AD (photo by Walter Dragoni).
Figure 26.
Granada, Alhambra, Fountains of the Lions, ca. 11th century AD (photo by Walter Dragoni).
Figure 27.
Lavatorium in the Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet, municipality of Vimbodí and Poblet, Spain. (Photo © Adrian Fletcher,
www.paradoxplace.com). [
50].
Figure 27.
Lavatorium in the Monestir de Santa Maria de Poblet, municipality of Vimbodí and Poblet, Spain. (Photo © Adrian Fletcher,
www.paradoxplace.com). [
50].
Figure 28.
14th century lavatorium at Gloucester Cathedral (photo by Derek Harper) [
51].
Figure 28.
14th century lavatorium at Gloucester Cathedral (photo by Derek Harper) [
51].
This fountain type, called “lavatorium” from the Latin, is found throughout Europe. Thus, various archival documents from ca. 11th century give detailed information on their construction, especially in England. Many of these fountains still exist and have been studied by archaeological and engineering methods. In general, the fountains were fed by short aqueducts, usually taking water from springs located at a distance of a few kilometers. The pipes were commonly of lead and usually locally made using a technology similar to that of the Romans. If the water supplied to the religious community by the aqueduct exceeded its needs, the surplus was usually given for public consumption.
A new era for water supply systems and fountains began in northern and central Italy during the early 13th century AD, when the
communes (city-states) flourished [
37]. At that time, following a period of mild climate (the so-called Medieval Warm Period) and the widespread use of the heavy plough [
52,
53] coupled with flourishing trade between the Levant and North Europe carried out by the Italian cities, urban population and wealth of the cities increased. Italian cities were considered the richest in Europe [
37] then, and intense building activity started in most cities of any importance. Churches, public buildings and new city walls were built according to rational plans.
New water systems and fountains were also built, or old aqueducts were repaired and improved. During this period, fountains began to be increasingly built for public water supply and to adorn cities instead of for the purposes of religious communities. The importance of this change should not be underestimated. Here, we shall focus on the fountains in Umbria, a region in Central Italy, but the same applies to other areas in Italy. In order to appreciate the importance of these fountains, it is necessary to bring back to mind that between the 12th and14th centuries in Central Italy, the cities were only formally under the control of the Holy Roman Empire or the Pope. Furthermore, the cities of Umbria were not ruled by feudal lords, but by an oligarchy which included the nobility, merchants, and the productive classes. The cities (the communes) were a sort of complicated embryonic “democracies”. Indeed, most of the rulers (called Consoli or Priori) were elected, and were in charge for a short time (six months or one year or so). Oftentimes, the Consoli were “professional politicians” from other cities. This was because, in theory, they had to govern in an objective manner in order to serve the whole community. Each city had a main square (piazza) where the cathedral and the Priori Palace, as well as other civil buildings, faced each other. They were the symbols of the religious and civil powers, located at the center of the city and society. The fountains built at the time are in the middle of the main piazza (square) between the symbols of religious and civil power, giving water to the entire community, not only to the upper classes.
Actually, religion and nobility always held overwhelming power, and the people of the lower classes were quite powerless. Nevertheless, the written documents, the architectural structure of the towns, and the public fountains indicate that the people felt that they were participating actively in the life of the city. In these conditions, between 1239 and 1319, fountains were built in the Umbrian towns of Spoleto, Trevi, Gubbio, Orvieto, Perugia, Assisi, and Narni, just to mention the principal ones. The building of these fountains implied a notable economic and technical effort, as often the towns were located on top of hills. The aqueducts are not more than a few kilometers long, but some times rather complex, as when they had siphons with pipes under high pressure. Their construction used and enhanced the best technical knowledge of that time. The fountains are all similar: water was generally led by a pressurized central pipe to an upper basin, from which it fell down to one or more lower basins. The lowest basin is a polygon, often decorated by sculptures of fine quality, or as in the case of the principal fountain of Perugia (Fontana Maggiore) of very high artistic value. The Fontana Maggiore of Perugia, considered a masterpiece of art, synthesizes the meaning of all contemporary fountains of the region. Therefore, it is the only one that is described in some detail.
The Fontana Maggiore, built in 1278 AD, consists of three decorated basins (
Figure 29). The main artists who worked on the fountain are the sculptors Nicola and Giovanni Pisano, father and son. The fountain is located in the main square of Perugia, between the Cathedral and the Priori Palace, built soon after the fountain (
Figure 30).
Figure 29.
Fontana Maggiore, Perugia.
Figure 29.
Fontana Maggiore, Perugia.
Figure 30.
Location of Fontana Maggiore, Perugia. On the right, the Cathedral, on the left, the Palace of Priori. The fountain is at the center of the town, between the religious and the secular powers. (From Google Earth).
Figure 30.
Location of Fontana Maggiore, Perugia. On the right, the Cathedral, on the left, the Palace of Priori. The fountain is at the center of the town, between the religious and the secular powers. (From Google Earth).
The lower basin has 25 sides, decorated with 50 bas-reliefs representing religious, historical, and mythological scenes. Besides them, the finest bas-reliefs present the types of work carried out each month of the year. For instance for February, the sculpture shows a fishing scene (
Figure 31); for June, a wheat harvesting and hay mowing scene; for November, plowing and sowing; for December, the slaughter of a pig, and so on.
Figure 31.
Fontana Maggiore, Perugia. Bas-relief for February.
Figure 31.
Fontana Maggiore, Perugia. Bas-relief for February.
The Fontana Maggiore, represents “noble” actions and situations as well as more humble ones: it gives water to the people regardless of their social position and is a hymn to labor and society in general. All arts, trades, and social strata of the town are included.
The
Fontana Maggiore is not important only artistically and socially, but also technically. The spring feeding the fountain lies a few kilometers from the town on top of an isolated hill. The topography is such that a section of the aqueduct had to be constructed on high arches (
Figure 32), and the maximum hydrostatic pressure on the lead pipes corresponded to about 100 m of water. In a way, such a bold construction effort, in spite of frequent pipe failures, marks the beginning of a new era for fountains, water supply and technical hydraulics. The aqueduct was completed between 1254 and 1277; the “engineers” in charge of its planning and construction, ignored by the history of hydraulics, were Boninsegna da Venezia and, later, Fra Bevignate (a Benedictine monk).The reader interested in the
Fontana Maggiore can get further information from the vast available literature (e.g., [
54,
55]).
Figure 32.
Surviving arches of the Fontana Maggiore aqueduct (photo by Walter Dragoni).
Figure 32.
Surviving arches of the Fontana Maggiore aqueduct (photo by Walter Dragoni).
The fountains built in Rome and Europe after the end of the 15th century defy any attempt of being described in a general paper like this. Hence, only a few general considerations and specific information about some fountains will be given.
In Rome, a few ancient aqueducts were repaired and some new ones built after the middle of the 15th century. The time when fountains would be built not only for water supply, but also to adorn public places and to show power and wealth, was about to begin. Indeed, after the 15th century hundreds of artistic and monumental fountains were built in Rome including the fountains of Piazza Navona, Acqua Paola, Trevi. The interested reader is referred to the immense bibliography dealing with them, e.g., [
35,
56,
57,
58].
The fountain of Villa Medici (
Figure 33) on the Pincio Hill is not among the most impressive Roman fountains, but it is important in the technical sense.
Figure 33.
The Fountain of Villa Medici (photo by Pio Bersani).
Figure 33.
The Fountain of Villa Medici (photo by Pio Bersani).
This fountain known also as the
Fontana della palla di cannone (Cannon Ball Fountain) was built in 1587 as an ornament for the main entrance to the villa owned by Cardinal Fernando Medici. The fountain could only be fed by the aqueduct of Aqua Virgo, which runs in a tunnel about 50 m below the level of the fountain [
48]. Cardinal Fernando hired Camillo Agrippa, a well-known engineer and mathematician, to build a water lifting device to serve the Cannon Ball Fountain. Camillo Agrippa built the device consisting of at least one piston pump and pipes to deliver the water to the fountain. The pump was powered by a water wheel turned by the flowing water of the same aqueduct. Piston pumps were known in the Hellenistic and Roman world since
ca. 3rd century BC, but up to present it appears there is no archaeological evidence of Greek o Roman piston pumps powered by water wheels. The Agrippa water lifting device, known in the Islamic world since at least the 12th century, appears to be the first known example built in Italy. Since then, water lifting devices of this type were used frequently when necessary. For further information about the Agrippa device, the interested reader is referred to the exhaustive research carried out by Lombardi [
48].
The fountains built after 1500 in Rome and nearby localities, such as the splendid fountains of Villa d'Este in Tivoli (around 1550,
Figure 34) and Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati (around 1600), contributed to the creation of the European fashion where parkland is decorated with great
jeux d’eau, such as in Versailles, France (around 1660), Chatsworth in Derbyshire, England (around 1687) and the imperial park of Peterhof, close to St. Petersburg, Russia (around 1710–1720) [
35].
Figure 34.
Fountain in the Villa d’Este park, in Tivoli, near Rome (photo by Walter Dragoni).
Figure 34.
Fountain in the Villa d’Este park, in Tivoli, near Rome (photo by Walter Dragoni).