Acqua Vergine

28 Friday Mar 2025

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Architecture, Roma

Tags

Ancient Roma, Ancient Roman engineering, Fontana di Trevi, La Barcaccia, Roman Fountains, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

The Ancient Romans were masters of engineering. One of the greatest examples of this is their aqueducts. These systems of waterways transported fresh water from springs and melting snow long distances via pipes and tunnels. The ability to provide a fresh, safe supply of drinking water is one of the reasons the Roman Empire became so powerful. In Roma, 11 aqueducts were built over a period of ~500 years. Aqueduct #6 out of 11, called Aqua Virgo (Acqua Vergine in Italiano) lives on today. Not only is it still with us, but it is still functioning, providing water to the most important fountains in central Roma. The pure, cold, fresh water is drinkable*, constantly flowing and powered by gravity.

Mmmm! Acqua freddissima!

Aqua Virgo was constructed in 19 BC by Marcus Vipsamius Agrippa, son in law and general of Emperor Octavian Augustus. Yes- the same Marcus Agrippa whose name is carved into the front of the Pantheon. He constructed the original Pantheon, before it burnt down. Marcus had the aqueduct built to supply water for the thermal baths of Agrippa in the Campo Marzio area near the Pantheon.

Aqua Virgo/Acqua Vergine probably refers to the freshness and purity of the water, but according to legend, in 19 BC, a young girl led Roman soldiers to a spring -the source for the aqueduct. The source is in the hills 13 km away, at Agro Lucellano between Via Tiburtina and the 8^th milestone of Via Collatina (2 of the roads that led to Roma) near present day Salone. The source is actually only 24m (79 ft) above sea level. Aqua Virgo is 21 km long via indirect route to Roma, making a wide arc. This is to make use of gravity by shallow downward gradient. 19 km of Acqua Vergine are 9m below ground, with short stretches of brick arches above ground.

There were 1352 fountains in Roma in the 4^th Century. Aqua Virgo was damaged by the invasion of 537 and repaired. It remained in use through the Middle Ages with a few renovations during the Renaissance. Early Renaissance Popes started to decorate the end point of restored aqueducts with large, ornate fountains.The Fontana di Trevi is the final destination of the original Acqua Vergine and Piazza del Popolo the end of an offshoot. Carved above the statues next to Oceanus on the Fontana di Trevi, 2 bas reliefs illustrate Marcus Agrippa ordering construction of the aqueduct and the young girl leading Roman soldiers to the source. They can both be seen in the photo below:

Acqua Vergine Antica runs under Villa Borghese and Villa Medici to Piazza di Spagna and Fontana di Trevi. In 1930 renovated Aqua Vergine Nuova goes behind Piazza di Spagna to Piazza through Giardini Borghese to Piazza Flaminio and Piazza del Popolo. Most of the aqueduct’s 21 km are 9m underground, except for the last stretch running partly on arches as it approached the Campo Marzio area, emerging from the hill by the present La Rinascente Department store. There is also an arch standing on Via del Nazareno, north of Trevi. Part of Aqua Virgo was found during construction of the new La Rinascente department store location, delaying the opening by 2 years. In 2017 the new Flagship La Rinascente store on Via Tritone 61 opened, including a basement archeological site with a 60 m (197 ft) section of Aqua Virgo on display. Admission is free. When I went, there was a Dolce and Gabbana furniture exhibit! Just take the escalator down to the bottom floor any time the store is open. Where else but Roma can you combine high end shopping and archeology?

Today Acqua Vergine supplies water to the fountains in Piazza della Rotonda outside the Pantheon, Piazza Mattei (Fontana delle Tartarughe) Fontana del Babuino, Piazza Navona (the 2 outer ones, not the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi), Campo dei Fiori, Piazza del Popolo (Fontana dei quattro leoni, Fontana di Nettuno and Fontana della Dea di Roma), Piazza Trevi, and my all-time favourite in Piazza di Spagna, La Barcaccia which resembles a sinking ship.

Don’t forget to bring a water bottle to Roma! Buon Viaggio, Cristina

*Since 1998, the water in the Fontana di Trevi is recycled, so no longer drinkable. With €3000 of coins thrown in daily, it was hardly drinkable anyways! Read more about this in my next post!

Photo credits: Drinking from La Barcaccia by Shannon Milar, Photo with bas reliefs by my sorella Lucia.

Un Giorno a Roma

15 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by Un po' di pepe in Italia, Roma, Travel, Travel tips

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

Bernini, Caravaggio, Colosseo, Elefantino, Fontana di Trevi, Il Vittoriano, Italia, La Barcaccia, Pantheon, Roma, Roma photography, Roma walking tour, Roman Forum, San Luigi dei Francesi, Tazza d'oro

Roma truly is ‘la Città Eterna‘-the eternal city! I usually fly in and out of Roma then take the train to Foggia on my way to Orsara di Puglia. I often have one full day in the city at the beginning or end of my trip. When i’m in Roma for just 1 day, I have a usual ‘itinerary’. I do not actually recommend anyone go to Roma for just one day, especially for the first time. 5 days will do but more is better. One day only gives you enough time to visit a few sites, so it is mostly an entire day of exploring the city on foot. The sites I choose to visit change a bit each time, but the route is basically the same.

I stay with a friend in the Basilica San Paolo area so I take the Metro blue line to the Colosseo stop, exit the station and take a few minutes to absorb the view across the street, which never fails to impress.

The view across the street from the ‘Colosseo’ metro stop!

Then I turn right and walk along Via dei Fori Imperiali. If you visit Il Colosseo, the ticket includes entry to the Forum, so you can walk through there. Visiting these 2 awesome sites will take all morning, so they are not usually part of my ‘1 day’ itinerary.

View of the Roman Forum (Foro Romano)

Old meets new at the Foro Romano

I walk along Via dei Fori Imperiali all the way to Piazza Venezia and Il Vittoriano, which is the neo-classical monument that looks like a giant wedding cake .

Il Vittoriano

If you want some great views of Roma and are not afraid of heights, take the glass elevator to the rooftop terrace.

‘Roma dal cielo’ view from the roof of Il Vittoriano

Then I turn right again and cross Piazza Venezia, which can be a bit of a challenge, and walk along Via del Corso. Via del Corso is lined with shops and goes all the way to Piazza del Popolo.

Crossing the street can be challenging! Photo taken by Vito!

I turn into one of the side streets on the left and walk to the Pantheon-the domed architectural masterpiece that is absolutely not to be missed! The 2000 year old roof is the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. Across the street I have an incredible granita di caffè at Tazza d’Oro.

Tazza d’Oro, Via degli Orfani 84

Granita di caffe

Behind the Pantheon is Santa Maria Sopra Minerva with Bernini’s adorable ‘elefantino’ sculpture in the piazza. I sometimes like to sit and sketch the pudgy little elephant carrying a 5m Egyptian obelisk on its back.

Bernini’s elefantino in Piazza Minerva. Behind the obelisk, you can see the domed roof of the Pantheon.

The molto fancy ‘Grande Hotel de la Minerve’ across from the church has a roof bar with incredible views. Down a side street – Via del Gesù- is Poggi art supplies www.poggi1825.it , so of course I have to stop there and drool at all the stuff I can’t carry home. I also pop into the little Baroque gem San Luigi dei Francesi, which is the National church of France in Roma. It has 3 incredible Caravaggio paintings-the ‘San Matteo’ cycle, in the Capella Contarelli which you can see for free! No lineups, no online bookings! I always put a coin in the box and light a candle when I visit a church. If you have more time, go on my Caffè con Caravaggio walking tour.

I walk down some side streets and get back onto Via del Corso going left. A few blocks down I cross the street and walk to the Fontana di Trevi to toss in my coin. I am very superstitious about this, so I have to do the coin toss or I’m afraid I might not return to Roma! That would be awful!

Fontana di Trevi

I look at all the tourists then head to my last stop- Piazza di Spagna. I never miss drinking from the Fontana della Barcaccia. This is the Baroque fountain at the bottom of the steps that looks like a sinking ship. It was sculpted by both Bernini, Pietro and Gianlorenzo (father and son). La Barcaccia has the best water ever, especially on a hot day –it comes straight from an ancient acqueduct Acqua Vergine and is always ice cold and refreshing.

La Barcaccia, Piazza di Spagna

Mmmm! Acqua freddissima!

From here I usually walk all the way back to the Colosseo metro stop to take the metro back home to San Paolo and pick up take-out suppli on the way. If I am too tired or have evening plans, I take the metro at Piazza di Spagna (red line) to Stazione Termini then change to the blue line for San Paolo.

Ci vediamo a Roma! Buon viaggio, Cristina