Early Water Supply Solutions in Rome

With the development of the 1st raised aqueduct in Rome, the Aqua Anio Vetus in 273 BC, folks who lived on the city’s hillsides no longer had to rely strictly on naturally-occurring spring water for their needs. When aqueducts or springs weren’t accessible, people dwelling at raised elevations turned to water taken from underground or rainwater, which was made possible by wells and cisterns. From the early sixteenth century, water was routed to Pincian Hill by using the underground channel of Acqua Vergine. Spanning the length of the aqueduct’s route were pozzi, or manholes, that gave entry. Although they were primarily manufactured to make it possible to support the aqueduct, Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi check out the post right here began using the manholes to collect water from the channel, commencing when he bought the property in 1543. The cistern he had made to obtain rainwater wasn’t adequate to meet his water demands. To give himself with a more useful means to assemble water, he had one of the manholes opened, giving him access to the aqueduct below his residence.