Although the ancient aqueducts needed restoration work from time to time, they still worked very well until the Gothic War (535-553) between the Ostgoths and the Byzantines. During this war, Rome was captured several times by both sides. During the sieges of the city, the aqueducts were deliberately damaged to cut off Rome’s water supply.
Here is a list of the sieges and captures of Rome:
536 – Rome is taken by the Byzantine general Velizarius;
537 – 538 – the siege of Vitigis is repulsed;
546 – Rome is taken by the Ostgothic king Totila;
547 – Rome is taken by Velizarius;
547 – Totila’s siege is repulsed;
549 – Rome is taken by Totila;
552 – Rome is taken by the Byzantine general Narzes.
And here is what Procopius of Caesarea, an eyewitness of the siege of the city by the Ostgothic king Vitigis in 537 – 538 writes about it:
The fortification on the Neronian plain was commanded by Marcius (he had already arrived from Gaul with his troops, with whom he encamped here). Over the others Vitigis, the sixth himself, commanded: each fortification had its own chief. Having thus arranged everything, the Goths dismantled all the aqueducts, so that as little water as possible could enter the city. In Rome there were fourteen aqueducts, built by the ancient inhabitants of burnt brick, of such width and height that it was possible for a man to pass there on horseback.
Procopius of Caesarea. War with the Goths. On buildings. Book I, Chapter 19 (translated by S. Kondratyev)
According to the last remark of this passage, the defenders should have narrowed the water tunnels so that the enemy could not use them as a passage to Rome. For example, during the siege of Naples, Byzantine soldiers led by Velizarius infiltrated the city in just this way. The number of aqueducts, equal to 14, apparently arose due to the inclusion of some of the main branches in the count.
In the Middle Ages the population of Rome fell from 1 million inhabitants to 30,000. The reason for this, along with war-related destruction and political instability, was the lack of access to running drinking water due to the loss of skills in hydraulic engineering.
Of the 11 original aqueducts, only the Aqua Virgo remained permanently active, but with a significantly reduced head. The first reconstruction was carried out under Pope Hadrian I (772-795) and it improved the functioning of the structure.
It is likely that it was on this occasion that the earliest fountain fed from this aqueduct (the “ancestor” of the Trevi Fountain) was built on the spot where the arches of the Aqua Virgo, which crossed the central part of the city, collapsed.
As for the other ancient aqueducts, only the Aqua Alexandrina seems to have worked until the 12th century, while the Aqua Traiana was reanimated from time to time, but never gave its original head. It was not until the end of the Middle Ages, in 1453, that Pope Nicholas V brought the Aqua Virgo up to the necessary condition and enlarged the fountain, decorating it with a huge wall inscription and designing the central outlet in the form of a triple lion’s head.
As the city began to expand again after the Dark Ages, the water supply that the old Aqua Virgo could provide became inadequate. The water brought by this aqueduct was mostly concentrated in only a small part of the city. Restoration works were carried out several times, but they were not able to supply enough water for the full functioning of the water network.
In addition, over time the canal was shortened and received water no longer from the original springs, but from springs located closer to the city and not as full-flowing. This led not only to a decrease in the amount of water supplied, but also to a decrease in its quality.
Pope Paul III (1534-1549) was wisely advised to overhaul the aqueduct at its initial section, but due to political problems he never did so. His successor, Pius IV, faced a problem of a different nature – a fierce rivalry between architects for the right to lead this important mission. Each did his best to criticize his rivals’ designs, which caused further delay.
Nevertheless, the works finally began. They were finished only in 1570 under Pope Gregory XIII, who was officially recognized as their manufacturer. By this time, the aqueduct had already been named Voda Salona, after the area closest to the reactivated water sources. This was immediately followed by the creation of a network of underground canals that provided water to several urban areas.
Rome continued to grow rapidly and water was still in short supply, especially for a number of important areas, such as the Capitol and its environs, which the water of the Salona did not reach. A project to restore the springs of the ancient Aqua Alexandrina was agreed upon by the same Gregory III, but he died shortly after work began (1585).
Most of the second aqueduct was completed under Felice Peretti, Pope Sixtus V (1585-1590). While still a cardinal, he owned the Villa Montalto on the Esquiline Hill, a very large estate that included the site of today’s Termini railroad station. The route of the new aqueduct was to run next to the pope’s estate, allowing for new fountains in his gardens and greatly increasing its value.
This explains Sixtus V’s desire to complete the aqueduct as soon as possible. Work was resumed just a few days after his election. The Pope gave the aqueduct his name, Acqua Felice, which sounded like Happy Water, but further events showed that he was clearly not born under a lucky star.
Perhaps because of the general rush, the architect Matteo Bartolani (aka Matteo di Castello), responsible for the project, failed to correctly calculate the height of the new arches of the aqueduct, which were to connect the preserved ancient sections.
As a result, water flowing from the original springs in the Pantano towards Rome would at some point “bounce” back. Furious at the wasted money and time, the pope appointed another architect, Giovanni Fontana, to supervise the work.
Fontana found new springs near the old ones, located at a higher level, sufficient for the water to reach the city without problems. The direction chosen for the new aqueduct was almost identical to that of the ancient Acqua Martia and Acqua Claudia, from which, moreover, a large amount of building material remained.
After the work of Sixtus V, almost nothing remained of the Aqua Martia, and the most stable sections of the Aqua Claudia became the support for the new Aqua Felice. To this day, the new aqueduct carries water from Pantano to Rome, crossing the present-day southeastern outskirts of what was once the countryside.
The main exit of the Acqua Felice is a large fountain built from the remains of Diocletian’s Thermae. Beneath a huge inscription commemorating the pope’s creation of the aqueduct, there are three tall niches separated by columns. In the central niche is an imposing figure of Moses.
The statue, when put in place, was thick and disproportionate. The Romans, accustomed to much more perfect works of art, immediately nicknamed the statue “funny Moses”.
The name of the aqueduct “Happy Water” was again a mockery of fate. However, despite this incident, by the end of the 16th century, most of Rome was once again supplied with drinking water.
Still quite “dry” were still a number of the western districts of the city, such as Regola, Trastevere and Borgio.
The little water that the Aqua Felice could carry to the opposite side of Rome was certainly not enough to meet the needs of the local inhabitants.
Even the wealthiest families who lived here, such as the Farnese, for example, had to take water from the Tiber or bring it from other areas.
At the beginning of the 17th century, Pope Paul V completely restored the ancient Aqua Traiana and renamed it Aqua Paola.
The work was completed in 1618, but the main outlet of the aqueduct, the huge fountain on Janikul Hill was not finished until 1690.
According to bad tradition, several blocks of marble from the ruins of temples and buildings in Trajan’s Forum were used for its construction. Because of its size, it still remains a “big fountain” to the Romans.
Like the ancient Aqua Traiana in the past, the Aqua Paola now supplies water to the entire western end of the city, but not limited to Trastevere, but also including the Vatican area, which has recently become part of Rome.
Another important nearby fountain, though not as huge as the one mentioned above, received the same water.
Originally located at the southern end of the via Giulia, on the opposite side of the Tiber, it was commissioned by Pope Paul V for the Regola neighborhood.
At the end of the 19th century, a high embankment was built along the banks of the Tiber to prevent flooding, for which several houses had to be demolished.
To preserve the fountain, it was dismantled and moved to the Trastevere side of the Sixtus Bridge. There it still stands today.
In the same century, the famous architect and sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini radically rebuilt the Trevi Fountain. However, due to lack of funds, the work was not completed.
They returned to the fountain only in 1731. Pope Clement XII chose the project of then little-known architect Francesco Salvi, who created, as a result, a masterpiece in the late Baroque style, which became world famous and became one of the symbols of Rome.
The work took 30 years and spanned the pontificate of three popes. Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) not only contributed to the fountain, but also paid for the further restoration of the aqueduct, one section of which was again in need of repair.
After the creation of this huge fountain, the Romans began to call the aqueduct Aqua Trevi, although its official name remained Aquedotto Vergine or Aqua Virgo. Its water was still valued for its fine flavor until the very second half of the 20th century, and the most important Roman fountains are still powered by it. An extension of the aqueduct network was made in 1840.
In 1870, just a few days before the capture of Rome by the Italian army, Pope Pius IX inaugurated a new aqueduct called the Aqua Pia Martia, partly following the course of the ancient Aqua Martia. The site for its main exit was also chosen near the “castle” of the old aqueduct.
A few years later it was moved slightly and the first fountain was replaced by the larger Fountain of the Naiads. The large water tank, connected to the Aqua Pia Marzia, was built in the form of an elegant tower in the northern part of Villa Borghese.
After the fall of the Papal State (1870), Rome became the capital of Italy and began to expand rapidly. From 1932 to 1937, a new main branch of the Acquedotto Vergine was built with a less winding course in its central part. Its main outlet was opened on Pincio Hill, building the Fountain of the Great Niche for this purpose. The aqueduct was named Nuovo Aquedotto Vergine Elevato or N.A.V.E.
In 1949, the left branch of the Pesquière aqueduct, which enters the city from the northwest, was opened to supply water to the new neighborhoods that were rapidly growing on the city’s outskirts. Its right branch was completed in 1964 and entered the city from the northeast.
The springs of this aqueduct are located near Rieti, 60 km northeast of Rome, and the main outlet fountain is located in the Piazzale degli Eroi, north of the Vatican.
In 1961, the water of the old Acquedotto Vergine was deemed unfit for drinking and diverted entirely to the historic fountains. In 1965, another aqueduct, the Appio Alessandrino, was built for the southeastern part of Rome.
