Aqueducts: The Answer to Rome's Water Troubles

Previous to 273, when the 1st elevated aqueduct, Aqua Anio Vetus, was made in Rome, citizens who dwelled on hills had to go even further down to collect their water from natural sources. When aqueducts or springs weren’t accessible, people living at raised elevations turned to water taken from underground or rainwater, which was made available by wells and cisterns. To provide water to Pincian Hill in the early sixteenth century, they employed the brand-new tactic of redirecting the stream from the Acqua Vergine aqueduct’s underground channel. Through its original construction, pozzi (or manholes) were positioned at set intervals along the aqueduct’s channel. While these manholes were manufactured to make it easier to conserve the aqueduct, it was also feasible to use containers to extract water from the channel, which was utilized by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he check bought the property in 1543 to his passing in 1552. Apparently, the rainwater cistern on his property wasn’t sufficient to satisfy his needs. To provide himself with a more streamlined means to obtain water, he had one of the manholes opened, offering him access to the aqueduct below his residence.