The Aqua Marcia ( it, Acqua Marcia) is one of the longest of the eleven aqueducts that supplied the city of Rome. The aqueduct was built between 144–140 BC, during the Roman Republic. The still-functioning

Acqua Felice The Acqua Felice is one of the aqueducts of Rome, completed in 1586 by Pope Sixtus V, whose birth name, which he never fully abandoned, was Felice Peretti. The first new aqueduct of early modern Rome, its source is at the springs at Pantano Bor ...

from 1586 runs on long stretches along the route of the Aqua Marcia. Together with 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 A ...

, it is regarded as one of the "four great aqueducts of Rome." It was the first to enter Rome on arches, which were used for the last 11 km, and which were also used later combined with the

Aqua Tepula The Aqua Tepula is an ancient Roman aqueduct completed in 125 BC by censors Gnaeus Servilius Caepio, who had served as consul in 141 BC, and Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla. The water from the Aqua Tepula was, as implied in the na ...

and

Aqua Julia The Aqua Julia (or Iulia) is a Roman aqueduct built in 33 BC by Agrippa under Augustus to supply the city of Rome. It was repaired and expanded by Augustus from 11–4 BC. Route The source of the Aqua Iulia is situated approximately a ...

Route

The ancient source for the aqueduct was near the modern towns of

Arsoli Arsoli ( Romanesco: ) is an actually void space and '' “town”'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, central Italy. The fair held on St. Bartholomew's Day at Arsoli is one of the oldest attested fairs of the region, and usually attended only by ...

and Agosta, over away in the

Anio The Aniene (; la, Aniō), formerly known as the Teverone, is a river in Lazio, Italy. It originates in the Apennines at Trevi nel Lazio and flows westward past Subiaco, Vicovaro, and Tivoli to join the Tiber in northern Rome. It formed the p ...

valley. This general locale, in hills to the east of the city, was also used for other aqueducts including the Anio Vetus,

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 Ani ...

, and

. The same source is used today to supply the modern aqueduct. The route was initially underground for about 80 km and then emerged on large monumental arches. The initial stretch of the aqueduct flanked the right bank of the river Anio, crossing it with a bridge just before Vicovaro and joining the route of the Aqua Anio Vetus (at a lower altitude). It continued towards Tivoli and then, bypassing the Tiburtini Mountains, it reached Via Prenestina. After the current municipality of Gericomio it crossed the Gallicano area in Lazio with alternating bridges (of which many are visible) and underground sections. After the Capannelle area it headed directly to Rome and surfaced at the seventh mile of the Via Latina, where there was a ''limaria'' pool (settling basin). From here a stretch of about 9 km arches flanked the Via Latina and reached Rome in the locality ''ad spem veterem'', near Porta Maggiore, where other aqueducts met. From here it followed the future Aurelian Walls until it crossed

Via Tiburtina Via Tiburtina is an ancient road in Italy leading east-northeast from Rome to Tivoli (Latin, Tibur) and then, with the via Valeria, on to Pescara (Latin, Aternum). Historical road It was probably built by the Roman censor Marcus Valerius M ...

on an arch later transformed into

Porta Tiburtina Porta Tiburtina or Porta San Lorenzo is a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy, through which the Via Tiburtina exits the city. History The gate originally was an arch, built under Augustus, in the point in which three aqueducts (Aqua ...

. The route passed the

Viminal The Viminal Hill ( ; la, Collis Vīminālis ; it, Viminale ) is the smallest of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. A finger-shape cusp pointing toward central Rome between the Quirinal Hill to the northwest and the Esquiline Hill to the southeast ...

gate, where Termini Station stands today, and ended near the Collina gate, where the main ''castellum aquae'' for distribution stood, near the current Via XX Settembre. The main branch of the subsequent network (which covered 2/3 of the city) reached the

Quirinal The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) 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 Pala ...

and then the

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerou ...

, while a secondary branch (rivus Herculaneus), which started from the Tiburtina gate, served the

Caelian The Caelian Hill (; la, Collis Caelius; it, Celio ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a sort of long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill ove ...

and the Aventine. Its extension to the Capitoline Hill caused a controversy at the time, because traditionalists were concerned about a passage in the '' Sibylline Books'' warning against bringing water there.

History

The Aqua Marcia, well known for its cold and pure waters, was constructed from 144 to 140 BC by the praetor Quintus Marcius Rex (an ancestor of Julius Caesar), for whom it is named and whose judiciary role was extended for the completion of the work. It was largely paid for by spoils from the recent Roman conquests of Corinth in 146 BC and the destruction of Carthage at the end of the Third Punic War, in the same year. It followed the

via Tiburtina Via Tiburtina is an ancient road in Italy leading east-northeast from Rome to Tivoli (Latin, Tibur) and then, with the via Valeria, on to Pescara (Latin, Aternum). Historical road It was probably built by the Roman censor Marcus Valerius M ...

into Rome, and entered the city in its eastern boundary at the

of the Aurelian Walls. The aqueduct was repaired by Marcus Agrippa in 33 BC, and then later again by

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

, according to the inscription in the arch that was later made into the Porta Tiburtina. Augustus also augmented the supply by linking it to an additional source, the Aqua Augusta, doubling the throughput. Much of its supply was siphoned off by private citizens for their own use, making it effectively only a trickle in the city by the time of Nero. The supply was increased again by later emperors.

Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a prominent 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 ...

measured the flow of the Aqua Marcia at its source around AD 97 as 4690 quinariae, making it the second-greatest source of the city's water. Modern estimates of size of one quinaria vary over a wide range, from to of water a day, giving the Aqua Marcia a flow rate of to of water a day.

References

Bibliography

* Coarelli, Filippo, ''Guida Archeologica di Roma'', Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Milano, 1989. * Claridge, Amanda,
Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide
', Oxford University Press, New York, 1998 *

External links

Information on Roman aqueducts

{{Coord, 41.8711, N, 12.5389, E, source:wikidata-and-enwiki-cat-tree_region:IT, display=title Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century BC Marcia

Route

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links