Tübingen, 1830, 8vo.
[165] The mother of Cola di Rienzi was one of those who gained a
livelihood by selling water in the streets.
[166] The ruined _castellum_ at the Porta Furba, two miles from Rome,
(previously mentioned,) seems to have been of this description; it rises
considerably above the level of the conduits, vertically, as if either
for water or air to rush up it.
[167] Cassiodori Var., lib. vii. 6, and iv. 31.
[168] Procopius, de Bello Gothico, lib. i. c. 19.
[169] This is shewn by the large corbels in the wall on the bank of the
river at this point, opposite to the Cloaca Maxima, which are pierced
with holes through them, in which a pole was placed to attach the chain.
These corbels remain perfect on the western side; on the eastern side,
they have been destroyed, or covered over by medieval houses. Those
which remain are carved into the form of gigantic lions’ heads, of the
character called Etruscan, but are of the time when the Port of Rome was
made in the Tiber, B.C. 180.
[170]
IMP. CAESAR DIVI
NERVAE F. NERVA
TRAIANVS AVG
GERM. DACICVS
PONT. MAX. TR. POT. XIII
IMP. VI. COS. V. P.P
AQVAM TRAIANAM
PECVNIA. SVA
IN VRBEM PERDVXIT
EMPTIS LOCIS
PER LATITVD. P. XXX
[171]
PAVLVS V. PONT. OPT. MAX
FORMIS AQVAE ALSIETINAE
OLIM AB AVG. CAES. EXSTRVCTIS
MOX COLLAPSIS. AB. ADRIANO I. P.M
INSTAVRATIS
IISDEM RVRSVS OB VETVSTATEM
DIRVTIS. OPERE SVBTERRANEO. ET
ARCVATO AQVAM EX AGRO
BRACHIANENSI DITIONIS VRSINORVM
SALVBRIORIBVS FONTIBVS DERIVATAM
IN VRBEM PERDVXIT
ANN. SAL. MDCXI. PONT. SVI VII.
[172] In the life of Hadrian by Spartianus (c. 20), we are told that a
number of aqueducts were made in his time and called after him. But his
name is not retained in the Regionary Catalogue.
[173] Frontinus, c. 88.
[174] We have seen before that Eadmer mentions the malaria in Rome as
early as the twelfth century. (Historiæ Novor., lib. ii. ad calcem S.
Anselmi operum, p. 51, D. Lut. Par. 1675, fol.) In the following century,
the author of “Sir Bevis of Southampton” gives a strange account of the
fevers arising from the Pontine Marshes into the Campagna di Roma. There
were, says he, two dragons there; one having fled to Toscan [Tusculum?],—
“That other dragoun ’is flight nome (took)
To Seinte Peter ’is brige of Rome:
Thar he schel leggen ai (lay for ever)
Til hit come domesdai;
And everi seve yer ones,
Whan the dragoun moweth (moves) ’is bones,
Thanne cometh a roke (reke, smoke) & a stink
Out of the water, under the brink,
Than men therof taketh the fevere,
That never after mai he kever (recover);
And who that n’el nought leve (believe) me,
Wite (know, inquire) al pilgrimes that ther hath be;
For thai can tell yow, I wis,
Of that dragoun how it is.”
(Weber, “Metrical Romances,” &c., vol. iii.
p. 315. Edinburgh, 1810, 12mo.)
[175] The fragment of an inscription relating to this aqueduct was found
near Gabii, and is described by E. Q. Visconti in his _Monumenti Gabini_,
Roma, 1797, 8vo. maj., p. 14.
IMP. CAESAR DIVI TRAiani
(Parthici filius Trajanus Hadrianus)
AVG. PONTIF[ex Maximus]
AQVAE DVCTVM GABINIS . . .
QVAM . . . . .
The second line appears to be an interpolation of the editor, but this is
not material. The aqueduct begun by Nerva was not finished till the time
of Hadrian. The aqueduct of Gregory XIII. and Sixtus V. (Felice) (A.D.
1572-1590) receives the water of this aqueduct, but at Colonna other
springs are collected and added to it; this was the work of Fontana.
[176] The Torre Pignattara is so called from the earthenware pots
(_pignatte_) of which the vault was built. Other remains of buildings of
importance have been found near the Mausoleum of S. Helena, and there is
some reason to believe that another imperial villa was situated there
during the first three centuries.
[177] Some say the popular name is _Torre de Scavi_, or of the
excavations from some great works of excavation made there in the twelfth
century.
[178] Note f, p. 88. “Aquarum ductus etiam infinitas hoc nomine
(Hadriani) nuncupavit.” (Spartianus in Hadriano, c. 20.)
[179] It is immediately opposite to the Palatine, and there is a
remarkably fine view from the portion of the _specus_ that remains, the
vault of which has been removed, and it is used as a terrace.
[180] Mémoire sur les fouilles exécutées à Santa Sabina. Paris,
Imprimerie Impériale, 1868, 4to.
[181] EX . FIG . . . . AEAM . . AUGVS . RUST . IT . ET . AQVI . . (Ap.
Fea, Fasti Consul., p. cxviii. No. 62.) Junius Rusticus et Aquilinus were
Consuls, temp. Marci Aurelii, A.D. 162.
[182] Commodus was emperor from 180 to 192, but was slain at the early
age of 31; and it is probable that this great work was left unfinished,
and was completed by his successor, Septimius Severus. In the Regionary
Catalogue they are mentioned together, and there was probably no division
between them.
[183] It was usual to take advantage of the _castella aquæ_ of the great
aqueducts to construct bath-chambers of various kinds, both for hot and
cold and swimming baths.
[184] This is also mentioned in our account of the Anio Vetus (II.), as
the branch at the second mile from Rome according to Frontinus. From the
low level, it is more probable that this branch came from the Anio Vetus
than from the Marcia, and an itinerant pilgrim of the eighth or ninth
century may have been mistaken on this point.
[185] This was probably the branch that now runs under the Via dei
Condotti. The main line to supply the Thermæ of Agrippa has been traced
beyond the fountain of Trevi to the Piazza di S. Ignazio, very near the
Pantheon, which was the entrance-hall to these _thermæ_. Those of Nero
and Alexander Severus were more to the north.
[186] See Aqueduct XI. Trajana.
[187]
HERCVLI . CONSERVATORI
INVICTO . COMITI
D. N. SEVERI . ALEXANDRI
PII . VICTORIS . SEMPER
AVG. AC. OPTIMI . PRINCIPIS
M. AVRELIVS . PRISCILLIANVS
V. C. CVRATOR . NYMPHAEI
DEVOT . NVM . M. Q. E.
[188] The great Thermæ of the third century in the Esquiliæ, where the
building known as the Minerva Medica stands, and to which the other
building, called after the Trophies of Marius, is supposed to have
been the entrance; this has been identified as a Nymphæum of Alexander
Severus, by the representation of it on one of his coins.
[189] SOPRA TREBIA (TREVI) VICINO ARCINAZZO (upon Trevi, near Arcinazzo).
[190]
MINERVAE . MEMORI
COELIA . IVLIANA
INDVLGENTIA . MEDICI
NARVM . INFIRMITATE . EIVS
GRAVI . SANATA . D. P
[191] There is a subterranean reservoir under it, and there are several
other subterranean reservoirs in this ground.
[192] This great Pantheum was a temple of all divinities, and also a hall
for the men, being connected by a large vaulted passage at the back with
the _thermæ_, of both of which there are visible remains.
[193] This spring is considered by some authors as the one source of the
river Almo; but it is only one of many, and it falls into the deep bed of
the river, coming from some miles beyond that point.
[194] In the valley of the Caffarella, a stone _specus_ has been made by
the side of the natural bed of this branch; it is open at the top, has
lochs in it, and is on a higher level than the natural stream. The object
of this was obviously to keep a supply of water from the springs in dry
weather.
[195] The two arches of the Porta Metronia remain, both built of brick
of the time of Aurelian. The outer arch is visible in the city wall; the
inner one is concealed by a medieval tower built up against it. In the
year 1871, Signor Rosa made a new gate on the east side of the Porta
Metronia for his carts to pass through, in which the earth, excavated
from the Palatine, is carried out into the meadow beyond, outside of the
walls. This is certainly better than continuing to fill up the valley
between the Aventine and the Pseudo-Aventine, and thereby concealing more
of the Wall of the Kings under S. Balbina and burying more of the Aqua
Appia, than has already been done under his orders.
[196] Cicero, Epist. ad Q. Fratrem, lib. iii. ep. 7.
[197] “Hic etiam derivavit aquam de antiquis Formis, et ad Portam
Lateranensem conduxit, ibique lacum pro adaquandis equis fieri fecit.
Plurima quoque molendina in eadem aqua construxit, et multas vineas cum
fructiferis arboribus secus ipsum lacum plantari studiosissimè fecit.”
(Muratori, Rerum Italic. Script., tom. iii. p. 420, col. 2, E.)
[198] “Aquam ad Urbem reduxit, molendina cum vineis juxta lacum aptavit,”
&c. (Pandolphus Pisanus, ibid., p. 419, col. 1, E.)
[199]
SIXT. V. PONT. MAX. PICENVS.
AQVAM . EX . AGRO . COLVMNAE.
VIA . PRAENEST . SINISTRORSVM.
MVLTARVM . COLLECTIONE . VENARVM.
DVCTV . SINVOSO . A. RECEPTACVLO . MIL. XX.
A. CAPITE XXII. ADDVXIT.
FELICEMQVE . DE . NOMINE. ANTE PONT. DIXIT.
COEPIT . ANNO. PRIMO. ABSOLVIT III. M.D. L. XXXVII.
[200] See Aqueduct XI.
[201] The Pope insisted on the work being completed at the time
originally fixed, notwithstanding that the blunder of his engineer made
it necessary to rebuild the whole arcade for seven miles.
[202] “Nunc autem in urbem influunt: 1. Aqua Appia, 2. Anio Vetus, 3.
Marcia, 4. Tepula, 5. Julia, 6. Virgo, 7. Alsietina (quæ eadem vocatur
Augusta), 8. Claudia, 9. Anio Novus.” (Frontinus, 4.)
[203] Id., c. 19.
[204] See Aqueduct III.
[205] Frontinus, c. 15, in both cases called by him, Herculaneus.
[206] Frontinus, c. 12.
[207] Id., c. 5.
[208]
“Quid loquar aërio pendentes fornice rivos,
Qua vix imbriferas tolleret Iris aquas?
Hos potius dicas crevisse in sidera montes,
Tale giganteum Græcia laudat opus.
Intercepta tuis conduntur flumina muris;
Consumunt totos celsa lavacra lacus.”
(Cl. Rutilii Itiner., l. 1, v. 97. and following.)
[209] “In formis autem Romanis utrumque præcipuum est ut fabrica sit
mirabilis et aquarum salubritas singularis. Quod enim illuc flumina
quasi constructis montibus perducuntur, naturales credas alveos
soliditates saxorum, quando tantus impetus fluminis tot sæculis firmiter
potuit sustineri. Cavati montes plerunque subruunt, meatus torrentium
dissipantur, et opus illud veterum non destruitur, si industria
suffragante servetur.”—(Cassiodori Variar., l. vii. c. 6.)
[210] It is possible that the number of nineteen was made up by adding
the different branches that supplied the Thermæ of the later Emperors,
(Septimius) Severus, Antoninus, Alexander (Severus), (Aurelius) Commodus,
Constantinus.
To these must now be added the two modern aqueducts, the Marrana and Aqua
Crabra [XVII.], united and brought through Rome in the twelfth century in
the bed of that branch of the river Almo, and the Aqua Felice [XVIII.],
made in the sixteenth; also the Aqua Marcia-Pia, made between 1860 and
1870, which now brings the water of the Aqua Marcia into Rome by a
different line.
[211] This was also the principal gate of the Sessorian Palace, and was
sometimes called the Porta Sessoriana.
[212] See Diagrams III. and XIX.
[213] See the Plans and Sections of this, Plate XXI.
[214] The water pumped out by the steam-engine employed by Signor Rosa
was always good clear drinking water, and had all the appearance of
coming from an aqueduct; it was sent along an open channel the whole
length of the Colosseum, and made a great swamp round the arch of
Constantine for several months in the spring of 1875, the outlet for it
being made on the outer side of the drain under that arch, which had
been constructed by the Municipality about 1866. At last it was observed
that an aperture into that drain might easily be made on the inner side,
and so avoid the swamp in the road, and washing the foot of the arch.
Soon after this the steam-engine was stopped on account of the enormous
expense of it, after it had gone on for more than a year, always pumping
out good drinking water, and sending it to waste.
[215] This article will be found in the _Annales de l’Institut de
Correspondance Archéologique_, 1873.
[216] Near the Porta Maggiore, and under the arches of Nero. There are
two large reservoirs close together in this vineyard, probably the
Gemelli of Frontinus.
[217] _Descending_ from the reservoir into the old _specus_ under the
arches of Nero.
[218] The Aqua Marcia was brought again into Rome by a new water
company in the year 1870, after several years of very arduous work, and
overcoming many difficulties. The company who made this great aqueduct
consisted chiefly of English shareholders, with a mixture of French and
Italian. It was long under the direction of the late Mr. Shepherd, an
Englishman, whose loss was much regretted in Rome, and latterly under a
Belgian engineer.
[219] See Frontinus de Aqueductibus, c. 5.
[220] There is a large and deep reservoir for it near the arch of
Dolabella, under the garden of the Villa Mattei, now called the Villa
Cœlimontana, and from thence it passed, still underground, to the cliff
of the Cœlian, opposite to the Aventine. A short tunnel was made from
this deep reservoir to a Nymphæum under the Cœlian, now S. Stefano
Rotondo, called of Septimius Severus. The ruins of it are shewn in 895; a
_specus_ has been traced from one to the other.
[221] See Frontinus de Aqueductibus, c. 6.
[222] Ibid., c. 125, and 93.
[223] Frontinus de Aqueductibus, c. 6.
[224] Frontinus, c. 125.
[225] Ibid., c. 93.
[226] They remind English people of the Clapham Junction of the railways
near London, where trains crossing each other at different levels can be
seen.
[227] Supra Portam Capenam, F. i. 19.
[228] See Frontinus de Aqueductibus, caps. 11, 18, 22, and 71.
[229] Frontinus de Aqueductibus, cap. 13, 14, 18, 20.
[230] Cohen. Méd. Imp. Alex. Sev., (Nos. 239, 334).
[231] This water is not mentioned in the Regionary Catalogue, and its
whole history appears doubtful. Some think the name is a corruption of
Argentina, the short stream that rises in the Lupercal or Wolf’s Cave,
under the north-west corner of the Palatine, as before mentioned.
[232] These sources are on the cliffs above the river Anio, at from five
seven miles from Rome, and two miles from Ponte Nono, in swampy meadows
called “the meadows of Lucullus,” and some in old stone quarries.
[233] See also the Photo-engravings, Plates I. and II.; and Historical
Photographs, Nos. 865, 866, 867.
[234] See page 3, and Historical Photographs, Nos. 632, 710, 1138, 1139,
1140, 1141, 1142, 1253; and Plates X. and XI. of the Supplement to Part I.
[235] See Photos., Nos. 1116 and 889.
[236] This is now, in 1876, taken possession of by the British and
American Archæological Society, with the consent of the owner of the
ground, who has allowed a door to be put up at the entrance.
[237] See also Plate XX.
[238] This map is to be had on either of these two larger scales, for
those who require more minute information.
[239] See p. 3.
[240] See p. 13.
[241] See p. 32.
[242] See p. 46.
[243] See p. 39.
[244] See p. 41.
[245] See p. 92.
[246] See p. 55.
[247] See p. 54.
[248] See p. 86.
[249] See p. 92.
[250] See p. 97.
[251] See p. 100.
[252] See p. 106.
[253] See No. VII., p. 50.
THE
AQUEDUCTS OF ANCIENT
ROME,
TRACED FROM THEIR SOURCES TO THEIR MOUTHS,
CHIEFLY BY THE
WORK OF FRONTINUS;
VERIFIED BY A SURVEY OF THE GROUND.
BY
JOHN HENRY PARKER, C.B.
HON. M.A. OXON., F.S.A. LOND., &c.
AND ASSISTANTS.
=OXFORD:=
JAMES PARKER AND CO.
=LONDON:=
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.
1876.
[Illustration: CHARTA TOPOGRAPHICA]
[Illustration: CHARTA TOPOGRAPHICA]