De Aquis et Aquaeductibus Veteris Romae

1680

de Beer Itb 1680 F

[Rome: Joannes Baptista Bussotti]

As the city of Rome and its population grew so did the need for a constant supply of fresh water, free from contamination, for public baths, fountains, latrines, industry and some private dwellings. The first aqueduct supplying Rome was built in 300 BC and by 300 AD there were eleven aqueducts carrying in millions of litres of water a day. Aqueducts relied on gravity alone for water movement and Vitruvius posits a gradient of 1:4800 as optimal. In the 17th century, Italian antiquarian Raphael Fabretti wrote three dissertations on Rome’s aqueducts. This engraving of the Aqua Alexandrina, built in 226 AD and supplying the Baths of Alexander, describes some of the above ground parts of the 22.4 km long aqueduct. The aqueduct, still visible in Rome today, was thought to supply between 120,000 and 300,000 cubic metres of water a day.
(Key to Fabretti’s engraving
Page 8: A=the space or hollow through which the water flowed
Page 9 (top):A=the space or hollow through which the water flowed; B=the ventilation shaft to maintain freshness and allow
access; C=the ridge of the arch; D=the form of the arch upright
Page 9 (bottom): A settling tank where the water is carried through (A) and (B) into the tank (C), where the mud in the water remained. Purified water exited through (D) and (E) and continued its journey to the city.)