Italy has a rich history of Roman and Renaissance landscaping, and as a result the country has generated a copycat trend throughout the Western world. People across the globe are keen to bring a little bit of Italy into their back garden and, nowadays, this desire to replicate classical piazzas and porticoes has been joined by an enthusiasm for green gardening.
Along with marble tiles and Romanesque statuary, the fountain is perhaps the most iconic feature of the Italian garden. Draped over with trailing ivy and set in a wide, central square, a white stone water feature is bound to breathe some Mediterranean charm into your backyard.
While outdoor fountains of this kind are certainly the key to creating an Italian ambience, they do not meet the green standards of environmentally friendly gardening, or giardinaggio ecologico in Italian. This kind of water feature ordinarily runs on electricity and, what is more, is ordinarily wreathed in a tangle of electric cabling.
However, it is possible to reconcile the Italian water feature with an earth conscious attitude. The solar powered fountain does not require electricity in the conventional way but runs on energy absorbed from the sun's rays.
This innovative and ecologically sound outdoor feature is thus the answer to green gardening, Italian style, reeking of old Rome and at the same time, preserving the environment.