History and Stories in the Garden: The Role and Symbolism of Water as a Stage for Power through Contemporary Testimonies

Abstract

The presence of water in the gardens of the political and cultural elites, as well as the ways in which it was animated through hydraulic games and scenographic devices, forms the core of this study. Water functioned as a privileged medium for the display of Power, capable of producing wonder and astonishment through technically sophisticated solutions. The scale and refinement of hydraulic effects contributed to defining a family’s prestige within a competitive system of self‑representation.

This contribution examines the use of water in the playful and theatrical hydraulic devices of several renowned residences in south‑central Europe, with particular attention to contemporary testimonies that are essential for reconstructing the performative “theatre” enacted within these gardens. The study also reflects on the methodological challenges posed by integrating diverse disciplinary fields –garden history, hydraulics, technology, iconography, politics, and philosophy– domains often marked by a transitory or immaterial nature, which makes interdisciplinary dialogue especially fruitful for constructing a historical narrative capable of capturing the complexity of these forms of power representation.