The Aniene (; la, Aniō), formerly known as the Teverone, is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...
in
Lazio
it, Laziale
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,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. It originates in the
Apennines at
Trevi nel Lazio and flows westward past
Subiaco,
Vicovaro, and
Tivoli
Tivoli may refer to:
* Tivoli, Lazio, a town in Lazio, Italy, known for historic sites; the inspiration for other places named Tivoli
Buildings
* Tivoli (Baltimore, Maryland), a mansion built about 1855
* Tivoli Building (Cheyenne, Wyoming), ...
to join the
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by th ...
in northern
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
. It formed the principal valley east of
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...
and became an important water source as the city's population expanded. The falls at Tivoli were noted for their beauty. Historic bridges across the river include the
Ponte Nomentano, Ponte Mammolo,
Ponte Salario, and
Ponte di San Francesco, all of which were originally fortified with towers.
Name
It was known to the Romans as ''Aniō''; this is of unknown
etymology
Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...
, but
Francisco Villar Liebana has suggested a root *''an''- that is found in many river names, such as the Ana (
Guadiana
The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the e ...
) and Anisus (
Enns).
Plutarch derived the name from a mythical
Etruscan king Anius who drowned in the river.
History
The confluence of the Aniene and
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by th ...
was controlled by
Antemnae, a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
settlement on a hill just to its south.
Rome's foundation myths numbered them among the
Sabines seized by
Romulus but that his wife
Hersilia convinced him to make its people
Roman citizens after their defeat and annexation around 752 BC.
The Aniene in Subiaco.
In
antiquity
Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to:
Historical objects or periods Artifacts
*Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures
Eras
Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
, three principal
aqueducts of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
—the
Aqua Anio Vetus,
Aqua Anio Novus and
Aqua Claudia—had their sources in the Aniene valley. Together with the
Aqua Marcia, they were regarded as the "four great aqueducts of Rome."
[Blackman, Deane R. "The Volume of Water Delivered by the Four Great Aqueducts of Rome." Papers of the British School at Rome 46 (1978): 52-72. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40310747.] The Aqua Anio Vetus (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for "Old Anio aqueduct") was constructed around 270 BC. The Aqua Anio Novus ("New Anio aqueduct") was begun under
Caligula around AD 38 and completed under
Claudius in 48. A third aqueduct, the Aqua Marcia, was constructed by
Q. Marcius Rex between 144 and 140 BC using the proceeds from the destructions of
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...
and
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
in 146 BC.
The emperor
Nero created three lakes on the river for his villa at
Subiaco. The
largest of these dams was the
highest dam in classical antiquity and remained in use until its destruction by a flood in 1305.
Trajan eventually connected the Anio Novus to two of these lakes.
See also
*
Rome's Aqueducts
References
Sources
* .
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Simbruina Stagna History and Art of Subiaco(Italian site)
Geography of Rome
Rivers of the Province of Rome
Rivers of the Province of Frosinone
Rivers of Italy
{{Italy-river-stub