Aqua Anio Novus (

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for "New Anio aqueduct") was an ancient

Roman aqueduct 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 min ...

supplying the city of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. Like 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 ...

, it was begun by emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

in 38 AD and completed in 52 AD by

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

, who dedicated them both on August 1. The aqueduct—together with the Aqua Anio Vetus,

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 ...

and Aqua Claudia—is regarded as one of the four great aqueducts of Rome. The quality of water delivered to the city of Rome left much to be desired, and before Frontinus' reforms of the water supply system its waters were used to supplement the flow of other aqueducts when needed—rendering waters in those too torpid in the process.

History

The building of was lacking in quality, and it required repairs after a few decades of use. In or around 71 AD the aqueduct was extensively restored by

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

. Further repairs took place during the reign of

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

, and smaller repairs were made during

Hadrian Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...

's reign as well. The aqueduct was again restored while the

Severan dynasty The Severan dynasty, sometimes called the Septimian dynasty, ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. It was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus () and Julia Domna, his wife, when Septimius emerged victorious from civil war of 193 - 197, ...

was in power, in 201 AD. After 201 AD and before 381 AD many repairs were made to the , albeit they can not be dated exactly.

Route

Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube frontier ...

describes its source as near that of the

and "forty-second milestone on the ''

via Sublacensis The Via Sublacensis was a Roman road constructed to connect Nero's palace (the Villa Sublacensis) in present-day Subiaco to Rome, splitting off from the Via Valeria The Via Valeria was an ancient Roman roads, Roman road of Italy, the continua ...

'', in the district of Simbruvium. The water is taken from the river which, even without the effect of rainstorms, is muddy and discoloured, because it has rich and cultivated fields adjoining it and in consequence loose banks." Its flow at the intake was 197,000 m³ a day. The aqueduct was freely used to supply the deficiencies of other aqueducts by using cross-channels at several points along the route controlled by sluice gates, and being turbid, rendered them impure. To improve the quality of the water

connected additional sources from the two uppermost of the three lakes formed by

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

for the adornment of his villa at Subiaco, thus lengthening the aqueduct to 58 miles and 700 paces. The lakes were created by

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

s in the river, and were the tallest of any built by the Romans. They were swept away by the river in the

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

period. The aqueduct was split into two channels above Tivoli and combined again near Gericomo. From its filtering tank near the seventh milestone of the

Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ea ...

, it was carried on the arches of the Aqua Claudia, in a channel immediately superposed on the latter. It terminated at a great tank on the Esquiline Hill near the temple of Minerva Medica. The Aqua Anio Novus had the highest water level of all the aqueducts that came into Rome which allowed it to reach the highest districts, but also necessitated a route that was higher than the others with taller bridges. It was built of

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

and brick.

Bridges

Aqua Anio Novus bridges visible today include: Ponte degli Arci, Ponte Arcinelli, Ponte Sant Antonio and Ponte Barucelli.

Ponte Sant Antonio

The Ponte S. Antonio is considered one of the most beautiful bridges of aqueducts supplying Rome. It crosses the Acqua Raminga stream and is named after an ancient sanctuary now disappeared. The central and original nucleus of the bridge was of ''

opus quadratum ''Opus quadratum'' ("squared work") is an ancient Roman construction technique, in which squared blocks of stone of the same height were set in parallel courses, most often without the use of Mortar (masonry), mortar. The Latin author Vitruvius d ...

'', of which the imposing central arch stands out, 32 m high and 10 m span. Spurs are visible on the various pylons, which were used to hook and support the scaffolding both during the construction of the bridge, but above all during the numerous restorations. In the post-Severan period it was reinforced by covering it almost completely with brick-clad ''

opus caementicium Roman concrete, also called , was used in construction in ancient Rome. Like its modern equivalent, Roman concrete was based on a hydraulic-setting cement added to an aggregate. Many buildings and structures still standing today, such as br ...

'' and adding small arches at the bottom of the bridge. On the east side of the bridge, on the south pillar near the stream, is a part of a supporting arch never completed, a sign that the bridge underwent several design changes during its construction. On the west side of the bridge, the channel turns at right angles and can be followed for several tens of metres.

Ponte Barucelli

The Ponte Barucelli (also known as Ponte Diruto) is made up of two monumental bridges 8 m apart for the Anio Novus (to the south) and the aqua Claudia (to the north) to cross the Acqua Nera stream. Both date to between 38 and 52 AD. They were later strengthened with buttresses and reinforcements, becoming two huge continuous and connected structures. The Anio Novus bridge, about 85 m long and about 10 m wide, has a few small arches except for the main high and narrow one for the Acqua Nera. It had originally been built of

in ''

''. In the second half of the 1st century it was reinforced in '' opus mixtum'', visible at the two east end buttresses. At the beginning of the 3rd century nine rectangular buttresses were added at regular intervals on the north side while on the south side only three were added near the bed of the stream, later increased by five on the west bank in poor '' opus latericium'' and two on the east in opus mixtum. Later the two bridges were connected by three brick arches and with buttresses.

References

External links

Subiaco Roman damsTravertine reveals ancient Roman aqueduct supply
{{Coord, 41, 53, 29, N, 12, 30, 55, E, display = title Buildings and structures completed in the 1st century Ancient Roman aqueducts in Rome 50s establishments in the Roman Empire 1st-century establishments in Italy Claudius Caligula 52 establishments