crossing of six aqueducts. 528 is a view of this tower and of the arches
of the aqueducts crossing each other under it, with the Aqua Felice in
the background. 529 shews the arch of the Claudia separately, and the
construction of it, with the Aqua Felice passing under this arch of the
Claudia. 530 gives very distinctly the arch of the Marcia, Tepula, and
Julia, with that of the Claudia passing over it. 531 and 532 are more
distant and general views of that tower, and the aqueducts passing under
it. 1439 is a side view of it, and of the old tombs on the Via Latina
in that part. 1004 shews the arches of the Claudia and Anio Novus in
perspective, and the opening into the _specus_ of the Claudia. In 550,
another fine portion of the arcade is shewn, with brickwork of Trajan.
The Porta Furba and a long line of the arcade is seen in the distance.
548 shews the Porta Furba at another crossing, with the fountain, and a
portion of the arcade of the Felice; with the Marrana in the bed of the
river Almo passing under it.
62 is a portion of the Claudian arcade, about half a mile nearer to Rome,
with the arches filled up with brickwork of the time of Trajan; at this
point there is another crossing. 63 shews a portion of the brickwork of
Trajan, originally built to strengthen the stone arcade; but the latter
has been carried away by the engineers of the Felice. 549 shews some
interesting repairs of the time of Nero, with massive square buttresses
faced with reticulated work. 70 is a medieval tower at the angle of the
garden of the Sessorian Palace, now of the monastery of S. Croce, near
the point where the aqueduct enters the wall.
547 shews the interior of the Tower and a _piscina_, at the entrance into
Rome, the four chambers of which are visible, the inner wall of this
tower having been destroyed; and into the interior of this the water of
the Claudia entered in the first chamber and went out at the fourth.
This photograph also shews the remains of a large _castellum aquæ_, now
forming part of the Wall of Rome, on the north side of the garden, with a
continuation of the arcade in the Wall of Rome in this part. In 544 the
_specus_ of the Claudia is plainly visible on the top of the wall, and
remains of the Anio Novus over it. In the distance are seen some of the
arches of Nero, across the valley and foss (?), from the angle near the
Porta Maggiore to the Cœlian Hill. This garden might very naturally be
called by Lampridius “The Garden of the Specus,” for the _specus_ in the
time of the Emperors must have been the most conspicuous object in it, or
visible from it (542).
412 shews another of these reservoirs in the same garden, with repairs in
brick by Trajan. The arcade of the Aqua Felice, built against the outside
of the Wall, is also seen through the arches of the Claudia.
31. The exterior of the Porta Maggiore, with the _specus_ over it, the
lower one the Claudia, the upper one the Anio Novus. (The inscription
of A.D. 404 is given in 1872.) Under these, but still on the top of the
wall, the _specus_ of the Aqua Felice may be seen, built as usual of
rough stone concrete. To the right or north of this may be seen the three
_specus_ of the Marcia, Tepula, and Julia, passing through the wall in
the opposite direction, now under the Felice, and originally under the
Claudia and Anio Novus. These three _specus_ are carried upon one of
the piers of the Marcian arcade, built into the great wall. Just beyond
these, further to the right, is part of the last tower of the Claudian
arcade.
32. The Porta Maggiore, with the _specus_ on it, seen sideways, and the
north side of the Baker’s tomb.
The last tower and _piscina_ of the Aqua Claudia; it stands at an angle
of the wall projecting from it, and shews clearly that it stood there
when the wall was built by Aurelian, and then incorporated into it. When
the fortifications of Honorius at this gate were destroyed in 1833, the
inscription relating to the aqueduct was preserved and built up to the
right or south of the gate (shewn in 1872). Within the wall, behind the
tower, is a large reservoir or _castellum aquæ_, of which there are
slight remains, shewn in 967 and 968.
A panoramic view of the line of the Claudian arcade, on the north side of
the Sessorian gardens, taken from the extreme end of them at the west,
is shewn in Nos. 542 and 543. On the left hand is the beginning of the
arches of Nero, going across the foss towards the Cœlian; then the Porta
Maggiore is seen sideways, with the two _specus_ on the top of it. Under
this is part of one of the two great reservoirs believed to have been
the Gemelli of Frontinus. Then comes the western wall of the Sessorian
gardens, rebuilt by S. Helena, the construction being of the time of
Constantine. To the extreme right is the ruin of the Basilica or Great
Hall of the Sessorian Palace, repaired by him. This is miscalled a temple
of Venus and Cupid on some of the maps.
Having thus traced the Aqua Claudia from its sources into Rome, we must
now do the same for THE ANIO NOVUS, which in its early part is distinct
from it, as we have said.
1514. Sources of the Anio Novus above Subiaco. The river Anio in the
highest point, with which the aqueducts are connected, is seen winding
through a gorge in the rocky mountain, with remains of the bars or dams,
across the river, forming the two upper lakes or lochs. The celebrated
monasteries of S. Scholastica and S. Benedict are visible on the hill to
the left.
1515. The River Anio, a little lower down, with remains of the second
barrage or dam across it, forming the third loch or lake, with the modern
bridge built upon the ruins of the old wall that formed the bar. Chapels
of the monks of S. Benedict are visible on the hill to the right.
1534. The Bridge of S. Francis, over one of the branches of the Anio that
meet near the rocks before mentioned, above Subiaco.
1517. Remains of a great reservoir or _castellum aquæ_, of the time of
Trajan, on the bank of the lake or loch before mentioned. The wall is
faced with _opus reticulatum_, with layers of brick at intervals, the
usual construction of the time of Trajan.
1518. The modern bridge, far below, and remains of the old high wall on
which it is built, are seen under it; below are the cliffs of the third
lake or loch, cut into a circular form. In the bed of the stream are
large stones fallen from the wall or bar across the river.
1519. Remains of another _castellum aquæ_ above Subiaco, and the mouth of
a cave connected with the aqueduct.
1555. _Specus_ of the Anio Novus cut in the cliff of the valley of the
Anio. This is below the level of the great bar, and the water was forced
to go through the _specus_ into Rome by the bar being higher than the
_specus_. A modern winding road has now been cut here, and the rock has
been in part cut away, shewing an opening into the _specus_, which is six
feet high and two feet wide. Above is seen a tower and an embattled wall
of the modern Villa Gori.
1516. Part of the _specus_ of Trajan, who repaired this aqueduct. The
_specus_ is cut as a tunnel in the cliff, with a reservoir by the side of
it.
1556. A view of the gorge in the mountains above Subiaco, where the three
lakes are situated.
1536. A small lake at the source of the spring called Fons Novus
Antoninianus, one of the sources of the Anio Novus.
1558. Cascade at the Paper Mill, on the site of a _piscina_ of the Anio
Novus, above Subiaco.
1057. Arches of the bridges of the Marcia and Anio Novus, in the Valley
of the Arches above Tivoli.
1052. Arch of the bridge on the Anio Novus, in the Valley of the Arches
above Tivoli, with a medieval tower built upon it, forming one of the
most picturesque objects in the neighbourhood of Rome.
1522. Specus of the Anio Novus below Tivoli, on the road to Garciano,
called the Promenade, with openings into it, and an old tomb in front of
it. This promenade is through an olive wood, and the roots of the olive
trees run into many of the ruins.
1523. One side of a _castellum aquæ_ of the aqueduct above the road to
Garciano, faced with _opus reticulatum_.
1529. A bridge across a valley that passes the road to Garciano. This
bridge is above the road on the left, in the valley called the Arcinelli.
1531. Ponte de S. Antonio, a fine bridge for the aqueduct below Tivoli,
across a gorge. It is seen from above looking down upon it, with the
chapel of S. Antony at the end of it, and a medieval castle in the
distance. The road for horses, and the remains of the _specus_ by the
side of it, are here visible.
1532. Ponte Lupo, near Poli, west side, below Tivoli, the finest of all
the bridges of the aqueducts. It crosses a valley from one cliff to the
other, and is a solid wall for part of the way, the rest on arches. The
two _specus_ are here visible, as seen from below on the west side.
687. Arrived in the valley of the Campagna, the great _piscina_ of the
Anio Novus and that of the Claudia, which is near to it, is underground,
and the summit of it only is visible, appearing like a tumulus. It is
near the old Via Latina, and below the present roads to Albano, Frascati
and Marino.
74 and 75. After leaving the great _piscinæ_, the two _specus_ are
carried on the fine arcade, of which a panoramic view is here given,
shewing its general effect for some miles.
554. Passing by the remains of Roma Vecchia to the Torre Fiscale and the
Porta Furba (given under the head of the Aqua Claudia), the _specus_
rises to a remarkable reservoir, which from its great elevation must
have belonged to the highest of the aqueducts. It is a most picturesque
one, near the Mausoleum of S. Helena, but is earlier than her time; it
belongs rather to that of Trajan, being faced with fine reticulated work,
with layers of bricks on the exterior. The interior is distinguished by
remarkably solid central buttresses, to support the wall against the
pressure of the water (553).
926. Another large reservoir of the same period and style, and at nearly
the same level; it occurs about a mile further from the main line of the
aqueducts, at the place called Torre de’ Scavi, where the Thermæ of the
Gordiani were afterwards made. This appears also to have belonged to the
Anio Novus, as no other aqueduct is high enough for the water to have
reached it.
ARCHES OF NERO.
At the great reservoir inside the Porta Maggiore (the Porta Esquilina
of Frontinus), the water of the Claudia and the Anio Novus was united
for the general use of the City. This aqueduct entered on the highest
ground in Rome, and the water supplied the deficiencies of any of the
other aqueducts in case of need. Being a part of the river Anio, it never
failed. It was forced to come through Rome, as has been shewn by the
arrangements in the bed of the Anio above Subiaco. This united water was
carried to all the fourteen Regiones of Rome, and in order to ensure an
abundant supply, it was conveyed in the great stone _specus_, on the fine
arches of Nero along the whole length of the Cœlian Hill for more than a
mile; at the west end of the Cœlian an enormous reservoir was built for
it on the level of the _specus_ at the top of these arches, so that the
base of the reservoir was fifty feet from the ground, and the road passed
under it. From this great central reservoir, at a very high level, the
water was distributed in various directions.
Before arriving at the Cœlian Hill, it had to be conveyed to and along
the Cœliolum (now the Lateran Hill). It had come through the gardens of
the Sessorium, as we have seen, in the two separate _specus_, after it
had entered Rome at the extreme eastern corner, on the north side of
these gardens, which are nearly half a mile long. These are _the palace
gardens_ mentioned by Frontinus. The Sessorium with its gardens (now the
monastery of S. Croce in Gerusalemme) had been one of the two Prætorian
camps, this one being at the south end of the great _agger_ of the
Tarquins, which formed the outer _mœnia_ of Rome on the eastern side. The
one, called the Prætorian Camp, is at the north end of the same great
bank.
Each of these fortified camps was surrounded by a great wide and deep
foss or trench. These great banks and trenches are usually mistaken for
natural hills and valleys; but natural hills and valleys are not merely
high banks fifty feet high and perhaps a hundred feet wide, nor are
natural valleys long narrow trenches of the same dimensions, running on
each side of the great banks, being in fact the trenches from which the
earth has been thrown to form the banks. Such a bank with such trenches
can be clearly traced all round Rome by eyes that are accustomed to
examine such things, although modern buildings have disguised them so
much that an ordinary observer does not see them. People cannot see
over modern walls of twelve feet high, still less over the great Wall
of Aurelian fifty feet high, and they do not think of comparing the
level of the ground on each side of that wall, nor can they easily do
so. These great ancient earthworks were extremely convenient for the
engineers of the Aqueducts, which were brought upon the high banks at
the farthest corner. They were carried along the bank on the north side
of the Sessorium, from its north-east corner to the south-west angle,
where the great bank of the Tarquins joins on to it. Some branches of
the Aqueducts, perhaps the main stream in some cases, were then carried
along this high bank of the Tarquins to the north, as far as the other
Prætorian Camp, and beyond it along the outer wall of Rome, as we have
seen in the case of the Anio Vetus, the Marcia, Tepula, and Julia. These
did not pass through the Sessorium, but parallel to it about a hundred
yards on the north of it. The Claudian arcade had been at about that
distance on the north of it, all the way from the Piscinæ into Rome. The
Marcian arcade was made nearly over the Anio Vetus, which ran between
that arcade and the Claudian, but much nearer to the Marcian.
On entering Rome, this main stream went straight on through the great
bank to the large reservoir on the inner side. The reservoirs for the
Tepula and Julia were much to the north, near the Porta di S. Lorenzo
(the Porta Viminalis of Frontinus), as we have seen; that of the Marcia
was much closer to the Porta Esquilina. The two great reservoirs, called
by Frontinus the Gemelli, were made in the great foss between the
Sessorium (S. Croce) and the Cœliolum (the Lateran). They had probably
been originally made for the Aqua Appia and the Anio Vetus, being both
at a low level, though one was much deeper than the other. Advantage was
taken of these ancient reservoirs to erect the higher one required for
the reception of the waters of the Claudia and Anio Novus over it, or by
the side of it, as was very usual throughout Rome. The later reservoirs
are always made nearly over the old ones. This is equally the case here
at the entrance into Rome and at the other end of the Cœlian. The great
high reservoir of Nero is close by the side of, and really over, the
great subterranean reservoir of the Aqua Appia (now under the garden of
the Villa Cœlimontiana, as described in the account of the Appia).
The foregoing explanation seems necessary to explain the photographs that
now follow, belonging to the Arches of Nero. The first of these (No.
77) shews the junction with the Porta Maggiore; the two _specus_ that
pass over that great gate are visible to the right of the photograph.
The beginning of the Arches of Nero is then seen, where they have to
cross the great wide and deep foss of the Sessorium, and were therefore
strengthened by sub-arches, as seen in No. 76. A more close view of these
arches, nearly at the same point, is seen in 66.
These arches were used by the engineers of the Aqua Felice whenever they
suited their purpose, and cut about or destroyed without mercy; they
also made use of an old _specus_ to carry their metal pipes whenever it
was convenient to do so, and the _old specus_ that ran along the Cœlian
was very convenient for that purpose. 1295* is from a drawing made to
shew this. The _specus_ of the Aqua Felice was first carried on the
lower arches of the double arcade of Nero, the upper part of the arcade
being destroyed. The metal pipes were then carried down into the old
subterranean _specus_ (_the Specus Vetus_ of Frontinus). This is in the
same garden or vineyard as the Gemelli, in the great foss between the
Sessorium and the end of one of the banks of the Tarquins, (on which
the garden of the Villa Volkonski has been made, and along which the
Arches of Nero run.) A portion of the grand arcade, with the _specus_
very visible on the top of it, is shewn in 759. This is close to the
Scala Santa of the Lateran; the arcade carrying the aqueduct passed along
the bank on the north side of the Lateran fortress on the Cœliolum, and
supplied that with water.
On the western side of the Lateran fortress is another great foss,
between the Cœliolum and the east end of the Cœlian Hill. It was either
thought more convenient to make a bank across that great foss for the
aqueduct to rest upon, or this bank which traverses that great foss had
been made before for an upper road, and was used first for the Aqua Appia
and the Anio Vetus, and afterwards by Nero. The existence of such a
foss between the east end of the Cœlian Hill and the Cœliolum is denied
by those who have not paid attention to the subject, and have not been
into the gardens and vineyards to examine it; but the fact is a matter
of demonstration. The tomb of the first century (miscalled the House of
Verus, probably a tomb of the great Lateran family), being on the western
bank of that fortress and the eastern bank of the foss, and the other
tomb of the first century also, in the garden of what was the Museum of
Campana (_under_ an arch that carries the modern road), on the western
side of that great foss, are a demonstration that there was such a foss
on the east side of the City of Servius Tullius, i.e. that the Cœliolum
and Lateran did not form part of the City at that time. (See my chapter
on the Tombs, and the photographs of these two tombs, 174 and 1942).
The Arches of Nero remain on the Cœlian in many parts of the line,
by the side of the road from the Lateran to S. Stefano Rotondo and
the Navicella, with the arch of Dolabella, which was under the great
reservoir of Nero, and formed the entrance of the Claudium. The Arches of
Nero are faced with the finest brickwork in the world (ten bricks to the
foot, as usual at that period, and are chosen as typical examples). This
is well shewn in 78, and the internal construction of rubble, faced only
with the fine brickwork, in 358. A line of these, shewing the picturesque
effect, is shewn in 131 and 357. The aqueduct formed one of the usual
angles between the Lateran and the arch at the west end of the Cœlian. It
has been destroyed in this part; but this accounts for the arches being
sometimes on one side of the road and sometimes on the other.
We have now arrived at the arch of Dolabella, built when he was consul,
A.D. 10, as an entrance to that part of the Cœlian Hill which had been
the keep when it was a separate fortress, and was afterwards made the
Claudium. This arch is of very simple construction, of travertine, the
same construction as the early part of the Basilica Julia, built by
Julius Cæsar and Augustus. It was used by the engineers of Nero as a
foundation for their great reservoir, or rather for one corner of it, as
we clearly see in 72. The work of the time of Nero terminated here, but
the design was carried on by his immediate successors. The water was then
divided into three branches; the one on the right hand, to the north,
went to the great reservoir between the Cœlian and the Esquiline, called
the _Stagna Neronis_, and was used for the sham naval battles. Around
these Stagna the Colosseum was afterwards built. A portion of the arcade
on which the _specus_ was carried is visible in the garden of the monks
called the Passionists of SS. John and Paul, and is well shewn in No.
1773, looking towards the east, with the ruins of the reservoir over the
arch of Dolabella, and the church of S. Stefano Rotondo in the distance.
There are remains of a reservoir for this, of the third century, in the
garden of the monks on the terrace of the Claudium, opposite to the
Palatine, shewn in No. 1765. The ruins of the fine arcade of the Claudium
stand on this terrace; the _specus_ also is in a wall here, behind the
arcade. A portion of another reservoir or _piscina_ for them can be seen
at the foot of the cliff of the Claudium, at its north-east corner,
opposite that part of the Colosseum near the Meta Sudans; this is also
shewn in No. 1743, with _opus reticulatum_ of the time of Nero. This
branch continued in use in the third century; for there are remains of
another reservoir for it, again at the foot of the Claudium opposite to
the Colosseum, but more to the east, near the north-east corner of the
Claudium, and near to the eastern end of the Colosseum. The remains of
this reservoir are shewn in No. 1735. A colonnade carrying the _specus_
from this reservoir to the second story of the Colosseum, is shewn on one
of the coins of Septimius Severus, who probably built this reservoir.
In the corridors of the Colosseum are open stone troughs lined with the
cement for water. These carried water from this aqueduct in a constant
running stream to cool the air. They are work of the third century, with
old inscriptions on some of them, shewing that they were made of old
materials.
Another branch from the great reservoir went straight across to the
Palatine, and from thence to the Capitol; it first follows the line of
the road down the Clivus Scauri, on the left or southern side, and a
fragment of it is visible opposite to the church of SS. John and Paul, as
seen in No. 305. At the foot of the Clivus Scauri it formed an angle, and
passed against the cliff on which the apse of the church was afterwards
built; it now forms the lowest and last of the series of arches that are
carried across the road to support the side of the church. Then, after
this angle to the north, it resumes its course to the west upon the
arches across the valley to the Palatine, which was a double arcade; but
the lowest tier of it only remains, as is shewn in 116. A portion of the
upper tier is also visible at the end of it; an arch of this upper tier
remains, which, having been made into a back gate of the Palatine, has
been suffered to remain, and is shewn in No. 72. A large reservoir for it
was made at the south-west corner of the Palatine, on which the palace
of Commodus was afterwards built; part of this reservoir and _specus_ is
shewn in 683 (made from a drawing). The _specus_ went across the middle
of the Palatine, and has been found more than once in some of the recent
excavations, but not understood. It was then carried on the bridge of
Caligula to the Capitol, a small portion of which remains connected with
his palace, as is shewn in Nos. 1447 and 1451.