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→Medieval and Renaissance Developments
By the 15th century in Europe, classical revival helped instigate interest in fountains, particularly in Rome. Public fountains were recreated, often stylized similar to Roman fountains, while pleasure gardens were created, often inspired by Roman gardens. The Medici family used fountains in Florence as symbols of their power and civic pride, where they commissioned the Fountain of Neptune in 1565 that symbolized the family's power. It was the city's first public fountain and gave it the first continually running water supply, whereas it had previously depended on cisterns or wells for its water. Both in Europe and Middle East, fountains were seen as ways for wealthy patrons or rulers as ways in which they can provide their cities with drinking water. Fountains, for many urban neighborhoods, became the chief water supply while also helping these wealthy or powerful patrons to be seen in more positive light.
In Catholic Europe, the Pope also became a benefactor for public fountains. The most famous is the Trevi Fountain in Rome, where three popes contributed to its construction until it was completed in 1762. During the 17th and 18th centuries, fountains became more elaborate, where cascading features and sunken fountains helped areas that could not easily utilize gravity for fountain water pressure to also benefit from fountains. It was the Trevi Fountain and fountains developed in this period that utilized sculptures and waterfall effects that influenced even modern designs. In the case of Trevi fountain, the waterflow is of low pressure, but by making the feature look like a series of waterfalls, this gives a dramatic effect without water needing to be spouted high in the air.
==Modern Changes==