Misplaced Pages

#312687

33-558: Together with the Aqua Anio Vetus , Aqua Anio Novus and Aqua Claudia , it was an exceptional technical achievement and is regarded as one of the "four great aqueducts of Rome." At 91 km, it is the longest of the eleven aqueducts that supplied Rome and, although its source was further downstream than the Anio Novus, technical progress allowed the later Anio Novus to use more bridges to shorten its path instead of following contour lines as

66-557: A day, giving the Aqua Marcia a flow rate of 46,900,000 L (12,400,000 US gal; 10,300,000 imp gal) to 360,192,000 L (95,153,000 US gal; 79,231,000 imp gal) of water a day. Further repairs continued later. The ancient source for the aqueduct was near where small lakes were formed by two springs in the Anio valley between the modern towns of Arsoli and Marano Equo . This general locale, in hills to

99-408: A long loop. Therefore the moderate slope of 1.1 m over 142 m of length (3½ ft over 466 ft) (0.77%) of the first 18 arches was followed by the considerable slope of 4.1 m over 25 m (13 ft over 82 ft) (16.3%) of the last four arches, as it was safer to lose energy in a short waterfall. The central part, a stretch of three double arches, collapsed in 1965 and an adjacent fourth double arch

132-511: A passage in the Sibylline Books warning against bringing water there and in 140 BC the case was brought before the Senate who rejected it. It was repaired for the first time in 33 BC by Agrippa then was largely rebuilt by Augustus between 11 and 4 BC following a report of the consuls Quintus Aelius Tubero and Paullus Fabius Maximus. This restoration is commemorated by an inscription placed on

165-551: A road which joined the two sides. The bridge was built in 144 BC as part of the Aqua Marcia. It is located on the private estate of San Giovanni in Campo Orazio. Ponte Caipoli carried the aqueduct originally on a single large arch fromm 144 BC which was later replaced by a double brick arch over the Caipoli stream at a height of 13 m. The bridge underwent numerous restorations in the following centuries which are still clearly visible on

198-495: A smaller arch while the south-east side had three small arches. It underwent reinforcement under Titus or Hadrian when it was entirely covered in cement and the entire south-east end was rebuilt. The Ponte Lupo is considered one of the most famous and interesting bridges of the Roman aqueducts; to allow the Aqua Marcia to cross the deep Aniene Valley on its way to Rome it had to be more than 30 m high and over 80 m long. Along its top ran

231-486: Is one of the most majestic aqueduct bridges and is located near the village of San Vittorino. It crosses the Mola stream with a series of 22 arches mostly in two-tier arrangement over a length of 155 m (509 ft) and a height of 24.5 m (80 ft). Earlier routes of the aqueduct passed over two other bridges starting higher upstream which were successively abandoned when they became excessively damaged. Hadrian built

264-505: The Aqua Appia . The Anio Vetus was an engineering masterpiece, especially considering its early date and complexity of construction; it was four times as long as the Aqua Appia , its source much higher, its flow was more than twice, and it supplied water to higher elevations of the city. However, the Anio Vetus had muddy and discoloured water and probably did not supply drinking water to

297-507: The Aventine . Aqueduct Marcia bridges visible today include: Ponte San Pietro, Ponte Lupo, Ponte Caipoli, Ponte della Bullica, Ponte degli Arci. With its enormous central arch 16 m wide, it is an impressive bridge over the Mola stream. It was originally built in ashlars of local, porous calcareous stone. The abutments, 3.84 m wide at the base, gradually decreased to 2.77 m which must have had beautiful effect. The north-west side probably included

330-710: The Viminal gate, where Termini Station stands today, and ended near the Collina gate, where the main castellum aquae for distribution stood, near the current Via XX Settembre. The main branch of the subsequent network (which covered 2/3 of the city) reached the Quirinal and then the Capitol , while a secondary branch (rivus Herculaneus), which started from the Tiburtina gate, served the Caelian and

363-516: The Appia, which provided almost 22% to such buildings. It had 35 castella for distribution in the city. Three major restorations were done along with the Appia aqueduct: in 144 BC by the praetor Quintus Marcius Rex during construction of the Aqua Marcia, by adding a secondary conduit in the Casal Morena area and other improvements; in 33 BC when Agrippa took control of the entire water system of

SECTION 10

#1732844552313

396-634: The Capannelle area it headed directly to Rome and surfaced at the seventh mile of the Via Latina , where there was a limaria pool (settling basin). From here a stretch of about 9 km arches flanked the Via Latina and reached Rome in the locality ad spem veterem , near Porta Maggiore, where other aqueducts met. From here it followed the future Aurelian Walls until it crossed Via Tiburtina on an arch later transformed into Porta Tiburtina . The route passed

429-513: The Elder passed laws to remove illegal pipes and supplies to private individuals. Nevertheless flow rates were still too low to meet growing demand, so the Senate decided to build a new aqueduct, longer and more ambitious than the previous ones, bringing water to the Capitoline Hill , a technical feat for the time due to its height. The praetor Quintus Marcius Rex (an ancestor of Julius Caesar )

462-507: The Marcia does. It was the first to enter Rome on arches, which were used for the last 11 km, and which were also used later combined with the Aqua Tepula and Aqua Julia . At the beginning of the 2nd century BC, the first two aqueducts of Rome ( Aqua Appia and Aqua Anio Vetus) had become dilapidated and many illegal diversions decreased the flow so much that in 184 BC the censor Cato

495-482: The Roman aristocracy. It was commissioned in 272 BC and funded by treasures seized after the victory against Pyrrhus of Epirus . The aqueduct took water from the Anio river and acquired the nickname of Vetus ("old") only after the Anio Novus was built almost three centuries later. Two magistrates were appointed by the Senate to instigate the project, the censors Manius Curius Dentatus (who died five days after

528-657: The abutments and the vault. Between the Ponte Caipoli and the Ponte della Bullica the tunnel is dug into the tuff about 1.2 m wide and 200 m long and can still be seen, following a tortuous route. The Ponte della Bullica crosses the Collafri stream with a single round arch in radial tuff ashlars with a span of 5.8 m and is 5.5 m high, 3.3 m wide and 10.6 m long. It dates to the Augustan age without ever having undergone radical restorations. On

561-521: The ancient city of Old Latium to which it ran, it received a new name having been extended as far as Praeneste (modern Palestrina). Once past Praeneste the road continued towards the Apennines and the source of the Anio River . At the ninth mile the road crosses a ravine by the well-preserved and lofty Ponte di Nona , with seven arches, the finest ancient bridge in the neighbourhood of Rome. The line of

594-659: The aqueduct flanked the right bank of the river Anio, crossing it with a bridge just before Vicovaro and joining the route of the Aqua Anio Vetus (at a lower altitude). It continued towards Tivoli and then, bypassing the Tiburtini Mountains and after the current municipality of Gericomio it crossed the Gallicano area and the via Praenestina in Lazio with alternating bridges (of which many are visible) and underground sections. After

627-523: The arch spanning the Via Tiburtina, later integrated into the Aurelian Wall. Augustus also augmented the supply by linking it to an additional source, the so-called Augusta, 600 m upstream in the valley of Anio, doubling the throughput . Much of its supply was eventually siphoned off by private citizens for their own use, making it effectively only a trickle in the city by the time of Nero . The supply

660-553: The assignment) and Flavius Flaccus . Its source is believed to be between Vicovaro and Mandela , 850 m (2,790 ft) upstream of the gorge at the Convent of San Cosimato , near Vicovaro . Like the Aqua Appia, its route was mainly underground, but it emerged at many points to cross river valleys especially after bridges using better technology were later used to shorten its course considerably. It descended from its source along

693-447: The bottom of the gorge are two rooms dug out of the tuff bank which were most likely used to house workers during aqueduct construction and completely submerged when the dam was built. [REDACTED] Media related to Aqua Anio Vetus (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons Via Praenestina The Via Praenestina (modern Italian: Via Prenestina ) was an ancient Roman road in central Italy . Initially called Via Gabiana , from Gabii ,

SECTION 20

#1732844552313

726-401: The bridge also to shorten the route by about 1.5 km (0.93 mi). The bridge is made of Roman concrete covered with opus reticulatum with the use of tufa blocks in the abutments and brickwork for the arch. It has a notable asymmetry due to the connection with the original channels at each end which were of widely different levels at this point in the valley as they previously followed

759-537: The bridge derives from the unit of measurement in force in the Papal States (the Taulella = 72 square rods) The bridge crossed the gorge of Caipoli, with two parallel arches, one for the aqueduct and another for the service viaduct. The abutments of the bridge are made of opus quadratum (45 cm [18 in] blocks on each side) reinforced in the Augustan era with opus reticulatum walls. The downstream channel

792-647: The city; and between 11 and 4 BC by Augustus . With this latter, an underground branch was built, the specus Octavianus , that started from the current Pigneto area and followed the Via Casilina and reached the area where the Baths of Caracalla were later built. Other restorations in the first two centuries AD include the construction of bridges across valleys on the route to shortcut long underground diversions. Remains of several bridges still exist: Ponte Della Mola, Ponte Taulella, and Ponte Pischero. The Ponte della Mola

825-443: The collapse of the bridge. The northern bridge abutment rested on a large block of travertine , which in turn rested on a tuff bank. The water apparently acted as a lubricant between these structures and, probably in conjunction with a flash flood or earthquake, the travertine block slid downstream, causing the bridge to collapse. The resultant flood then caused the collapse of the dam and the failure of this stretch of aqueduct. At

858-549: The east of Rome, was also used for other aqueducts including the Anio Vetus , Anio Novus , and Aqua Claudia . The Aqua Marcia was well known for its cold and pure waters and the same source is used today to supply the modern aqueduct. The route was mainly underground for the first 80 km after which it emerged on large monumental arches to ensure there was a good water head (pressure) for distribution in Rome. The initial stretch of

891-402: The surface, and allowed easier extraction of material and maintenance by wagons crossing Collafri hill. [REDACTED] Media related to Aqua Marcia (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons 41°52′16″N 12°32′20″E  /  41.8711°N 12.5389°E  / 41.8711; 12.5389 Aqua Anio Vetus The Aqua Anio Vetus was an ancient Roman aqueduct , and the second oldest after

924-464: The tuff banks on either side are Roman rooms about 30 m from the bridge for maintenance workers. On the southwest bank is a service tunnel (the Bullica tunnel). The tunnel is about 230 m long, wide enough for vehicles and was built at the same time as the aqueduct. Every 30-40 m are vertical inspection shafts ( putei ) for access to the aqueduct below, which made the shafts shorter than if they had to reach

957-699: The valley to Tivoli , where it left the Anio towards the Alban Hills to near Gallicano , below Palestrina . It crossed under the Via Latina near the seventh milestone and at the fourth milestone turned northwest to enter Rome. It entered the city underground at the Porta Praenestina and terminated inside the Porta Esquilina . Only 5.8% of the Vetus' total flow supplied imperial buildings, an important difference from

990-413: Was blocked causing the water to fall into the gorge in which a dam held the water to create a settling tank and another conduit then transported the water to a tower via a siphon, and into a new channel (by-passing the dilapidated Inverso bridge). From the resultant lake, water was used for a nearby system (perhaps a nymphaeum or thermal baths). However this created instability over time which slowly led to

1023-528: Was entrusted with supervision of the work, for whom it is named and whose judiciary role was extended for the completion of the work. It was largely paid for by spoils from the recent Roman conquests of Corinth in 146 BC and the destruction of Carthage at the end of the Third Punic War , in the same year. Its extension to the Capitoline Hill caused controversy because traditionalists were concerned about

Aqua Marcia - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-405: Was increased again by later emperors. Frontinus measured the flow of the Aqua Marcia at its source around AD 97 as 4690 quinariae , making it the second-greatest source of the city's water. Modern estimates of size of one quinaria vary over a wide range, from 10,000 L (2,600 US gal; 2,200 imp gal) to 76,800 L (20,300 US gal; 16,900 imp gal) of water

1089-481: Was soon demolished because it was unsafe. The bridge allowed the Anio Vetus to cross the Rio Secco gorge and thus avoid several valleys along the route. It was first built in brick, resting on pillars in opus quadratum from the Augustan age, later reinforced with thick opus reticulatum supports which greatly reduced the width of the span. Erosion at the base has now revealed the oldest structures again. The name of

#312687