Aqua Alexandrina

Aqua Alexandrina crossing Viale Palmiro Togliatti where the arches are the highest
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Coordinates	41°52′42″N12°34′24″E / 41.87833°N 12.57333°E /41.87833; 12.57333

TheAqua Alexandrina (Italian:Acquedotto alessandrino) was aRoman aqueduct located in the city ofRome. The 22.4 km long aqueduct carried water from Pantano Borghese to the Baths of Alexander on theCampus Martius. It remained in use from the 3rd to the 8th century AD.^[1]

The aqueduct was constructed in AD 226 as the last of theeleven ancient aqueducts of Rome. It was built under the reign of EmperorAlexander Severus to supply his enlargement of theBaths of Nero, which were renamedThermae Alexandrinae. The aqueduct was repaired for the first time in the era ofDiocletian between the 3rd and 4th century, later between the 5th and 6th century and finally in the 8th century during the reign ofPope Adrian I. The aqueduct was described in the 17th century byRaffaello Fabretti (1680).

The Aqua Alexandrina received its water from the Pantano Borghese swamp near the city ofGabii, now a part ofMonte Compatri. The same spring has supplied theAcqua Felice since 1586. The first 6.4 km of the total 22.4 km were tunnelled underground, later run on the surface and 2.4 km was carried on brick arches traversing the valleys of theRoman Campagna.

Some of its last section inside the city remains uncertain but the aqueduct entered the city atPorta Maggiore and ended on theCampus Martius at the Thermae of Alexander, between thePantheon and thePiazza Navona.

Depending on the season, the aqueduct supplied 120,000 to 320,000 cubic meters of water per day.

The arches of the aqueduct are made ofconcrete with brick coating. There are four smalltravertine brackets at the top of each pillar whose function remains unknown.

The longest continuous above-ground stretch of the aqueduct runs through the district of Centocelle along Via dei Pioppi and Via degli Olmi. Monumental arches are looming above busy Viale Palmiro Togliatti north ofVia Casilina. The road runs along the old ditch of Centocelle (Fosso di Centocelle) where the arches reached a height of 20–25 m. Formerly the crossing was an impressive feature of the Roman countryside but now it is totally surrounded by a densely built residential neighbourhood. The brick surface is very well preserved here contrary to the other sections which were heavily eroded.

A second longest visible stretch runs along Via dell'Acquedotto Alessandrino south of Via Casilina. The arches carried the aqueduct through a valley with the lowest point at the crossing of present-day Via Carlo Della Rocca. The ruins are surrounded by houses and a public park called Parco Giordano Sangalli. The arched stretch ends at the crossing with Via di Tor Pignattara.

It is possible to follow the aqueduct from Centocelle towards Pantano Borghese through open fields and scattered farmsteads until theGrande Raccordo Anulare, the great ring road of Rome. There are significantly lower arched stretches at the crossing points of ditches and hollows for example behind theTor Tre Teste housing estate where a public park was established around the ruins.

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  View at the crossing of Fosso di Centocelle
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  The section inside Torpignattara district
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  Ruins near Tor Tre Teste
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  Chalk formation indicating that the aqueduct was leaking
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  Low section without arches

• Aqua Claudia – Ancient Roman aqueduct in Italy
• Baths of Caracalla – Ancient Roman bath, a landmark of Rome, Italy
• List of aqueducts in the city of Rome
• List of aqueducts in the Roman Empire
• List of Roman aqueducts by date
• Parco degli Acquedotti – Park to the southeast of Rome, Italy with ancient Roman aqueducts
• Ancient Roman technology
• Roman engineering

• Lacus Curtius article
• Roman Aqueducts
• Andrea Polett
• Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012).The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. Interlink.ISBN 9781623710088.

Media related toAqua Alexandrina (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons

• Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd century
• Ancient Roman aqueducts in Rome
• Rome Q. XIX Prenestino-Centocelle
• Severus Alexander
• Monte Compatri

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