What does the fountain do? Let us find out.
Most ancient civilizations had urban cisterns to preserve drinking water. While the Greeks and Romans used water pipes to transport water to various parts of the city, they also used gravity to let the water out. So the earliest fountain actually provided free drinking (and daily use) water. This function still exists in many fountains in Europe and America until now.
In the Middle Ages, public water delivery systems almost ceased to exist, and most public fountains in Europe were abandoned and only appeared in literary works or private gardens. The fountain also symbolizes the source of life, innocence, wisdom, and the Garden of Eden from this time.
During the Renaissance, Europe began to rebuild fountains as public buildings, mainly as sculptures and ornaments. At present, the large number of beautiful fountains on the streets of Rome were mainly built in the 15th to 18th centuries.
In the early days of the Industrial Revolution, the rapidly expanding large cities also built fountains to provide water for the new population. Later, the water supply system gradually matured, and the water supply function of the fountain weakened.
Modern fountains are mainly constructed to provide decoration in public places, and occasionally to cool the ground.
