Aqueducts of Rome
Encyclopedia
This is a list of aqueducts in Rome listed in chronological order of their construction.
Ancient Rome
Modern Rome
Ancient RomeAncient RomeAncient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
- Aqua AppiaAqua AppiaThe Aqua Appia was the first Roman aqueduct. It was constructed in 312 BC by Appius Claudius Caecus, the same Roman censor who also built the important Via Appia...
- built in 312 BC
- source: springs 10 miles (16.1 km) to the east of Rome
- length: 10 miles (16.1 km); underground from its source for 7 miles (11.3 km), then on arches for 3 miles (4.8 km) to its terminus in the Forum BoariumForum BoariumThe Forum Boarium was the cattle forum venalium of Ancient Rome and the oldest forum that Rome possessed. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. Here, too, is where the first bridges were built...
in Campus MartiusCampus MartiusThe Campus Martius , was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome...
- Aqua Anio Vetus
- built in 272 - 269 BC
- source: Anio (AnieneAniene-External links:* http://www.humnet.ucla.edu/humnet/horaces-villa/glossary/Anio.gloss.html*...
) River near Vicovaro, east of Rome - length: 40 miles (64.4 km); underground channel of stone from its source to its terminus on the Viminal HillViminal HillThe Viminal Hill is the smallest of the famous seven hills of Rome. A finger-shape cusp pointing toward central Rome between the Quirinal Hill to the northwest and the Esquiline Hill to the southeast, it is home to the Teatro dell'Opera and the Termini Railway Station.At the top of Viminal Hill...
- Aqua MarciaAqua MarciaThe Aqua Marcia was the longest of the 11 aqueducts that supplied the city of ancient Rome. The still-functioning Acqua Felice from 1586 runs on long stretches along the route of the Aqua Marcia....
- built in 144 - 140 BC
- source: springs near SubiacoSubiaco, ItalySubiaco is a town and comune in the Province of Rome, in Lazio, Italy, from Tivoli alongside the river Aniene. It is mainly renowned as a tourist and religious resort for its sacred grotto , in the St. Benedict's Abbey, and the other Abbey of St. Scholastica...
, east of Rome - length: 56 miles (90.1 km); underground for 50 miles (80.5 km) from its source, then on arches for 6 miles (9.7 km) to its terminus on the Capitoline HillCapitoline HillThe Capitoline Hill , between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol...
- later piped to the baths of CaracallaCaracallaCaracalla , was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he murdered the latter in 211...
on the Caelian HillCaelian HillThe Caelian Hill is one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. Under reign of Tullus Hostilius, the entire population of Alba Longa was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill...
by a branch called Aqua Antoniniana, then to the Aventine HillAventine HillThe Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the twelfth rione, or ward, of Rome.-Location and boundaries:The Aventine hill is the southernmost of Rome's seven hills...
and the Quirinal HillQuirinal HillThe Quirinal Hill is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian Head of State, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has come to stand for the Italian President.- History :It was...
- Aqua TepulaAqua TepulaThe Aqua Tepula is an ancient Roman aqueduct built in 126 BC by censors G. Servilius Caepio and L. Cassius Longinus. Its source was at the Alban hills, running only a mere 18 kilometers to Rome...
- built in 125 BC
- source: springs near Subiaco, east of Rome
- length: 11 miles (17.7 km); underground for 5 miles (8 km) from its source, then on the same arches as those of the Aqua Marcia for 6 miles (9.7 km) to its terminus on the Aventine Hill
- Aqua JuliaAqua JuliaThe Aqua Julia or Aqua Iulia is a Roman aqueduct built in 33 BC by Agrippa. It was repaired and expanded by Augustus from 11–4 BC....
- built in 33 BC
- source: springs near Subiaco, east of Rome
- length: 14 miles (22.5 km); underground for 7 miles (11.3 km) from its source, then on the same arches as those of the Aqua Marcia and Aqua Tepula to its terminus on the Aventine Hill
- Aqua VirgoAqua VirgoThe Aqua Virgo was one of the 11 aqueducts that supplied the city of ancient Rome. The aqueduct fell into disuse with the fall of the Roman Empire, but was fully restored nearly a whole millennium later during the Renaissance to take its current form as the Acqua Vergine.The Aqua Virgo was...
- built in 19 BC
- source: springs near Via Collatina, east of Rome
- length: 14 miles (22.5 km); underground for 7 miles (11.3 km) from its source, then on arches for 7 miles (11.3 km) to its terminus at the baths of Agrippa in Campus Martius
- Aqua AlsietinaAqua AlsietinaIn Ancient Rome, the Aqua Alsietina was the earliest of the two western aqueducts, erected somewhere around 2 BC, during the reign of emperor Augustus...
- built in 2 BC
- source: Lake Alsietina, now Lake Martignano, northwest of Rome
- length: 14 miles (22.5 km); underground for 13 3/4 miles from its source, then on arches for 1/4-mile to its terminus at the NaumachiaNaumachiaThe naumachia in the Ancient Roman world referred to both the re-enactment of naval battles and the basin in which this took place....
of AugustusAugustusAugustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
in Transtiberim (TrastevereTrastevereTrastevere is rione XIII of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, south of Vatican City. Its name comes from the Latin trans Tiberim, meaning literally "beyond the Tiber". The correct pronunciation is "tras-TEH-ve-ray", with the accent on the second syllable. Its logo is a golden head of a lion on a...
)
- Aqua ClaudiaAqua ClaudiaAqua Claudia was an aqueduct of ancient Rome that, like the Anio Novus, was begun by emperor Caligula in 38 AD and completed by Emperor Claudius in 52 AD. Its main springs, the Caeruleus and Curtius, were situated 300 paces to the left of the thirty-eighth milestone of the Via Sublacensis...
- built in AD 52
- source: springs in Subiaco, east of Rome
- length: 43 miles (69.2 km); underground for 34 miles (54.7 km) from its source, then on arches for 9 miles (14.5 km) to its terminus on the Caelian Hill
- later piped to the imperial palaces from the mid-first century on the Palatine HillPalatine HillThe Palatine Hill is the centermost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city...
- Aqua Anio NovusAnio NovusAnio Novus is an aqueduct of Rome. Together with the Aqua Claudia, it was begun by emperor Caligula in 38 AD and completed in 52 AD by Claudius, who dedicated them both on August 1.-Details:...
- built in AD 52
- source: Anio (Aniene) River, east of Rome
- length: 54 miles (86.9 km); underground for 46 miles (74 km) from its source, then on arches for 8 miles (12.9 km), entering Rome at Porta MaggiorePorta MaggioreThe Porta Maggiore , or Porta Prenestina, is one of the eastern gates in the ancient but well-preserved 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome....
, atop the channel of Aqua Claudia to its terminus on the Caelian Hill
- Aqua TraianaAqua Traianathumb|240px|Route of Aqua Traiana shown in red.thumb|240px|Route of Aqua Traiana within ancient Rome.The Aqua Traiana was a 1st-century Roman acqueduct built by Emperor Trajan and inaugurated on 24 June 109 AD...
- built in AD 109
- source: springs to the north of Lake BraccianoLake BraccianoLake Bracciano is a lake of volcanic origin in the Italian region of Lazio, northwest of Rome. It is the second largest lake in the region and one of the major lakes of Italy...
, northwest of Rome - length: 35 miles (56.3 km); underground for 29 miles (46.7 km) from its source, then on arches for 6 miles (9.7 km) to its terminus on the Janiculum Hill
- Aqua AlexandrinaAqua AlexandrinaThe Aqua Alexandrina was a Roman aqueduct located in the city of Rome.-History:It was constructed in AD 226 as the last of the ancient aqueducts in Rome. The Aqueduct was built under the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus to supply his enlargement of the Thermae of Nero...
- built in AD 226
- source: the Pantano springs near Via Prenestina, east of Rome
- length: 14 miles (22.5 km); underground for 4 miles (6.4 km) from its source, then on arches for 10 miles (16.1 km) to its terminus at the baths of Alexander SeverusAlexander SeverusSeverus Alexander was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235. Alexander was the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly fifty...
in Campus Martius
Modern RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
- Acqua Vergine AnticaAcqua VergineAcqua Vergine is one of the several aqueducts that serve the city of Rome, in Italy, with pure drinking-water. The name derives from the name of its predecessor, Aqua Virgo, which was constructed by Marcus Agrippa in 19 BC, terminating at its castellum at the Baths of Agrippa, and, through a...
- built in 1453
- source: springs in Salone, east of Rome
- length: 8 miles (12.9 km); underground from its source to its terminus at the fountain of Trevi on the Quirinal Hill
- Acqua FeliceAcqua FeliceThe Acqua Felice is one of the aqueducts of Rome, completed in 1586 by Pope Sixtus V, whose birth name, which he never fully abandoned, was Felice Peretti. The first new aqueduct of Early Modern Rome, its source is at the springs at Pantano Borghese, off Via Casilina...
- built in 1586
- source: springs at Pantano Borghese, off Via Casilina
- length: 15 miles (24.1 km); underground for 8 miles (12.9 km) from its source, in the channel of Aqua Alexandrina, then alternating on the arches of the Aqua Claudia and the Aqua Marcia for 7 miles (11.3 km) to its terminus at the fountain of Moses on the Quirinal Hill
- Acqua Paola
- built in 1611
- source: Lake Bracciano, northwest of Rome
- length: 20 miles (32.2 km); underground for 12 miles (19.3 km) from its source, in the channel of Aqua Trajana, then on arches for 8 miles (12.9 km) to its terminus at the fountain of Paul V on the Janiculum Hill,
- later piped to Vatican Hill
- Acqua Pia Antica MarciaAcqua Pia Antica MarciaThe Acqua Pia Antica Marcia or Aqua Pia was an aqueduct in Rome. It was first built as a restoration of the classical Aqua Marcia by Luigi Canina, commissioned by Pope Pius IX...
- built in 1870
- source: springs near Subiaco, east of Rome
- length: 56 miles (90.1 km); underground for 50 miles (80.5 km) in the channel of Aqua Marcia, then on arches for 6 miles (9.7 km) to its terminus at the fountain of the Naiads on the Viminal Hill
- Acqua Vergine NuovaAcqua VergineAcqua Vergine is one of the several aqueducts that serve the city of Rome, in Italy, with pure drinking-water. The name derives from the name of its predecessor, Aqua Virgo, which was constructed by Marcus Agrippa in 19 BC, terminating at its castellum at the Baths of Agrippa, and, through a...
- built in 1937
- source: springs in Salone, east of Rome
- length: 8 miles (12.9 km); underground from its source to its terminus at the fountains in Piazza del Popolo and the fountains on the western slope of the Pincio, overlooking Piazza del Popolo
- Acqua Peschiera
- built in 1949
- source: springs in Sorgenti, northeast of Rome
- length: 60 miles (96.6 km); underground from its source, splitting into two branches:
- Peschiera Sinistra, approaching Rome from the east
- Peschiera Destra, taking a westward route, crossing the Tiber River at Poggio Mireto Scalo, about thirty miles north of Rome to its terminus at the fountain of Piazzale degli Eroi, just north of Vatican Hill