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 wate ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

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 re ...

. It originates in the Apennines at

Trevi nel Lazio Trevi nel Lazio is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Frosinone in the Italian region of Lazio in the upper valley of the Aniene river. It is by road northeast of Fiuggi and by road southeast of Subiaco, the nearest large ...

and flows westward past Subiaco,

Vicovaro Vicovaro ( la, Varia, Romanesco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about northeast of Rome. History The area of Vicovaro was inhabited as early as the Neolithic period, as tes ...

, and Tivoli to join the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, 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 ...

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 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 (753–509 B ...

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 The Ponte Nomentano (called Pons Lamentanus during the Middle Ages) is a Roman bridge in Rome, Italy, which carried the Via Nomentana over the Aniene ( la, Anio). Having lain outside the city limits for most of its history, the picturesque brid ...

, Ponte Mammolo,

Ponte Salario The Ponte Salario, also called Ponte Salaro during the Middle Ages, is a road bridge in Rome, Italy, whose origins date back to the Roman period. In antiquity, it lay outside the city limits, 3 km north of the Porta Collina, at the point whe ...

, and

Ponte di San Francesco The Ponte di San Francesco (Italian for ''Bridge of Saint Francis'') is a medieval segmental arch bridge over the Aniene in Subiaco, Lazio, Italy. Constructed in 1358, its single span measures . Other notable historic bridges crossing the Aniene ...

, 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 Phonological chan ...

, but

Francisco Villar Liebana Francisco Villar Liébana (born 23 May 1942, in Torredonjimeno, Jaén) is a Spanish linguist, full professor of Indoeuropean linguistics at the University of Salamanca, beginning in 1979. Biography He was a disciple of Francisco Rodrigues Adr ...

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 ...

) and Anisus ( Enns).

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

derived the name from a mythical

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

king Anius who drowned in the river.

History

The confluence of the Aniene and

was controlled by

Antemnae Antemnae was a town and Roman colony of ancient Latium in Italy. It was situated two miles north of ancient Rome on a hill (now Monte Antenne) commanding the confluence of the Aniene and the Tiber. It lay west of the later Via Salaria and now l ...

, a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power of the ...

settlement on a hill just to its south. Rome's foundation myths numbered them among the

Sabines The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divid ...

seized by

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...

but that his wife

Hersilia In Roman mythology, Hersilia was a figure in the foundation myth of Rome. She is credited with ending the war between Rome and the Sabines. Battle of the Lacus Curtius In some accounts she is the wife of Romulus, the founder and first King of ...

convinced him to make its people

Roman citizens Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...

after their defeat and annexation around 752 BC. Aquae planlatium 2a

The Aniene in Subiaco. In antiquity, three principal

aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...

—the

Aqua Anio Vetus The Aqua Anio Vetus was an ancient Roman aqueduct, and the second oldest after the Aqua Appia. It was commissioned in 272 BC and funded by treasures seized after the victory against Pyrrhus of Epirus. Two magistrates were appointed by the Senate, t ...

Aqua Anio Novus Aqua Anio Novus (Latin for "New Anio aqueduct") was an ancient Roman aqueduct. Like the Aqua Claudia, it was begun by emperor Caligula in 38 AD and completed in 52 AD by Claudius, who dedicated them both on August 1. Together with the Aqua Anio ...

and

Aqua Claudia Aqua Claudia ("the 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. Together with Aqua Anio Novus, Aqua ...

—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 (

for "Old Anio aqueduct") was constructed around 270 BC. The Aqua Anio Novus ("New Anio aqueduct") was begun under

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

around AD 38 and completed under

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

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 o ...

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

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 Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

eventually connected the Anio Novus to two of these lakes.

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

Name

History

See also

References

Sources

External links