Qanats of Palermo

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Qanat Gesuitico Basso

The Qanats of Palermo are a system of underground tunnels with which the groundwater from adjacent mountain slopes was channeled underground into the city of Palermo .

overview

It is assumed that the technique of water supply by Qanats was brought from the Arab to Sicily and that the first Qanats in Palermo under Hassan al-Kalbi , the 948-954 Emir of Sicily and founder of the local Muslim dynasty Kalbites was built to ensure the water supply to the rapidly growing city. However, there is no evidence of this. The existence of the Qanats of Palermo is first documented in writing by al-Idrisi under the rule of Rogers II . It is therefore not clear whether the qanats were created for the first time under Roger II or whether they were only further expanded.

The qanats of Palermo were used to supply the city with drinking water, to irrigate fields and gardens, and also to feed the numerous artificial streams and lakes of the royal park . The water of the artificial wells in the castles of La Zisa and Uscibene was also supplied by qanate. Some tunnels were also used to drain the urban area and as sewers. The qanats remained in operation for several centuries.

The three main qanats of Palermo are the Qanat Gesuitico Alto , the Qanat Gesuitico Basso and the Qanat dell'Uscibene .

Qanat Gesuitico Basso

Coordinates: 38 ° 6 ′ 33 ″  N , 13 ° 19 ′ 59 ″  E

The access to the Qanat Gesuitico Basso (lower Jesuit qanat, also called Qanat della Vignicella) is on the premises of the Psychiatric Clinic (Ospedale Psichiatrico) in Palermo next to the former main building of the Jesuit monastery La Vignicella. The names of this qanat are also derived from this Jesuit monastery.

The Qanat Gesuitico Basso is formed from an approximately 60 cm wide and 4 m high tunnel, to which 14 shafts lead down.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Carlo Trabia: Kanats of Sicily . in: Best of Sicily Magazine , March 2005

literature

  • Museum Without Borders (Ed.): Arab-Norman Art - Sicily's Culture in the Middle Ages . International cycle of exhibition streets Islamic Art in the Mediterranean, Ernst Wasmuth Verlag Tübingen Berlin, 2004, ISBN 3803041023

Web links

Commons : Qanat (Palermo)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files