The Acqua Felice is one of the

aqueducts of Rome The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported mini ...

, completed in 1586 by

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

, whose birth name, which he never fully abandoned, was Felice Peretti. The first new aqueduct of

early modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

Rome, its source is at the springs at Pantano

Borghese The House of Borghese ( , ) is a family of Italian noble and papal background, originating as the Borghese or Borghesi in Siena, where they came to prominence in the 13th century and held offices under the '' commune''. During the 16th century, t ...

, off

Via Casilina The Via Casilina is a medieval road in Latium and Campania. It led from Rome to Casilinum (present-day Capua), to present-day Santa Maria Capua Vetere. It was created from the fusion of two ancient Roman roads, the ''Via Latina'' and the ''Via ...

. Its length is , running underground for from its source, first in the channel of Aqua Alexandrina, then alternating on the arches of the

Aqua Claudia Aqua Claudia ("the Claudius, Claudian water") was an ancient Roman aqueduct that, like the Aqua Anio Novus, was begun by Emperor Caligula (37–41 AD) in 38 AD and finished by Emperor Claudius (41–54 AD) in 52 AD. It was the eighth aqueduct to ...

and the

Aqua Marcia The Aqua Marcia () is a long Roman aqueduct, and the longest of List of aqueducts in the city of Rome, eleven aqueducts that supplied the city of ancient Rome, Rome. The aqueduct was built between 144–140 BC. The still-functioning Acqua Fe ...

for to its terminus at the

Fontana dell'Acqua Felice Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone * Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

on the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has c ...

, standing to one side of the Strada Pia (now Via del Quirinale), so as to form a

piazza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

in this still new part of Rome. The engineer was Giovanni Fontana, brother of Sixtus' engineer-architect

Domenico Fontana Domenico Fontana (154328 June 1607) was an Italian"Domenico Fontana."
''

Lateran 250px, Basilica and Palace - side view Lateran and Laterano are names for an area of Rome, and the shared names of several buildings in Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the Roman Empire. The Laterani lost their p ...

, he decided that he would bring water once again to the hills of Rome, which had remained waterless and sparsely inhabited, largely by monasteries, since the original ancient aqueducts had been destroyed in the sixth century. From the source, which Sixtus purchased, there was only a very small fall, and the work required an underground conduit as well as an aqueduct carried on arches.

Construction

The work was completed within eighteen months, at the same time that Sixtus was engaged in laying out the street plan that would provide the arteries of modern Rome. By October 1586, water was running at his Villa Montalto, and by 1589 it was filling no less than twenty-seven public fountains.

Cultural significance

The three-arched

(designed by

Domenico Fontana Domenico Fontana (154328 June 1607) was an Italian"Domenico Fontana."
''

S. Giedion, ''Space, Time and Architecture'' (1941) 1962, p 101 "and it is scarcely conceivable that such mediocrity was possible only two decades after the death of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

". Its disproportionately large attic, a billboard for the triumphant inscription, has an unbalanced stagey flatness; its proportions may be unfavorably compared to the Arco Scalette, Vicenza, erected in 1576, probably designed by

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( , ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be on ...

(''illustration, right''). The allegories are resolutely biblical, avoiding classical pagan allusions in publicising the modern pope who demolished the

Septizodium The Septizodium (also called ''Septizonium'', ''Septicodium'', or ''Septisolium'') was a building in ancient Rome. It was built in 203 AD by Emperor Septimius Severus. The origin of the name "Septizodium" is from ''Septisolium'', from the Latin ...

to make way for his avenues linking the major Christian monuments of Rome, the pilgrimage

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

s. Any ''mostra'' had its practical aspect in providing public water supply for its ''

rione A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the title of (). Formed a ...

'' (the city's administrative areas). The marble basins, flanked by Egyptian lions that spit water, served as reservoirs for local inhabitants; marble barriers keep animals from polluting the water: for them there is a special basin nearby. Next to the fountain Sixtus installed two long basins for washing laundry, and a covered washhouse where women might enjoy privacy.

Notes

References

* Siegfried Giedion, (1941) 1962. ''Space, Time and Architecture''

External links

Aquae Urbis Romae: the Waters of the City of Rome, Katherine W. Rinne
an

Illustrates the Latin inscription on the ''mostra'', or inscription panel

{{coord, 41, 54, 15.7, N, 12, 29, 39.9, E, type:landmark_region:IT_source:dewiki, display=title Felice, Acqua

Construction

Cultural significance

Notes

References

Further reading

External links