Aqua Traiana
| Aqua Traiana | |
|---|---|
| Construction year | 109 ad |
| length | 59 km |
| Headwaters | Sabatine Mountains |
| Height of the source above sea level |
250 m |
| Height in Rome | 30 m |
| Cross section in the lower reaches (W × H in m) |
1.3 x 2.3 |
The Aqua Traiana is an ancient Roman aqueduct ( aqueduct ) to supply the city of Rome . In addition to the nine existing aqueducts, it supplied the right bank of the Tiber (today Trastevere ) with water.
history
The Aqua Traiana was built under the rule of Emperor Trajan in 109 AD.
The aqueduct was partially destroyed by Witichis , king of the Ostrogoths , during the siege of Rome in 537 AD, but was restored a few years later by the general Belisarius under the rule of the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I.
New interventions took place during the time of Pope Honorius I in the 7th century. When the Lombards and Saracens passed through , the Aqua Traiana suffered further damage and was therefore repaired again between the 8th and 9th centuries.
Acqua Paola
In 1605, Pope Paul V had a new aqueduct rebuilt along the ancient canal. This reconstruction is known as Aqua Paola . At the time, the Pope was probably of the opinion that he had renovated the Aqua Alsietina from the time of Emperor Augustus, as a plaque on an aqueduct of the Acqua Paola and on the Fontana Paola , the end of the aqueduct, shows.
Water flow
The sources of the Aqua Traiana, today Acqua Paola, are located in the Sabatine Mountains in the north of Lake Bracciano , in ancient times Lacus Sabatinus , about 50 km northwest of the city center of Rome. The ancient aqueduct had a length of 59.2 km. The Acqua Paola probably does not use all the springs that the Aqua Traiana used, but has also been taking water directly from Lake Bracciano since 1673.
From the extraction point south of Anguillara Sabazia , the course of Aqua Traiana and Acqua Paola is identical. You follow the Arrone River, which is the only outflow from Lake Bracciano, and reach today's Roman district of La Giustiniana via an underground route . They run along Via Braccianense Claudia and Via Trionfale , then on an arch construction along Via Aurelia Antica and end on the Gianicolo near the later Porta Aurelia (today: Porta San Pancrazio). The water could be distributed from this hill and even served as a drive for mill wheels.
The aqueduct has been operated by Acea , the water company for the city of Rome, since 1937 .
Others
The Aqua Traiana was added to the List of International Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1992.
See also
literature
- Samuel Ball Platner , Thomas Ashby : A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Oxford University Press, London 1929, p. 28, ( digitized version ).
- Filippo Coarelli : Rome. An archaeological guide. von Zabern, Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-8053-2685-8 , pp. 40-41.
- Lawrence Richardson : A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1992, ISBN 0-8018-4300-6 , pp. 18-19, (Aqua Traiana).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Inscription: PAULUS V ROM PONT OPT MAX AQUAEDUCTUS AB AVG CAES EXTRUCTOS ... RESTITUIT ( German: Pope Paul V had this aqueduct built by Emperor Augustus ... rebuilt)
- ↑ Norman Smith: Man and Water. Irrigation, water supply. From the pharaohs to Aswan. Pfriemer, Munich 1978, ISBN 3-7906-0074-1 .
- ↑ www.lagosabatino.com
