80. Enjoy a 2000 years old Roman marvel: the Aqueducts Park

Updated: Mar 22

By Giulio D'Ercole -

There are not very many places in the world where one can jog, bike, read a book or simply enjoy a nice relaxing walk surrounded by marvelous works of engineering more than 2000 years old . One of these extremely rare places is the famous Park of the Aqueducts in Rome!

Rome’s first aqueduct, Aqua Appia, in fact was built in 312 BC, and it takes its name, by the visionary Roman Censor, Appius Claudius, who decided to harness the natural springs in the Alban Hills south of Rome, and bring their fresh drinkable waters into town using the force of gravity. Because of the many aqueducts that were built afte the first one, Rome was called the regina aquarum, or “queen of waters”. In fact, by the year AD 52, there was enough fresh, potable water flowing into Rome every day to provide over 1,000 liters to each of the nearly one million inhabitants. All that water was brought to the Romans by no less than eleven (!) aqueducts, whose length added up to some 300 miles. Three hundred miles of elevated channels, inside which water would constantly flow, not pushed by pumps or other modern electrical generators (of course), but simply, as told above, by gravity, going from the mountains around Rome to the many fountains placed in several convenient places in within the ancient metropolis.

The very meticulously calculated incline allowed the water to flow from point A to point Z without ever stagnating, which would have caused the potential growing in the water of bacterias and other dangerous polluting organisms.

What is truly amazing, is not only the fact that those highly efficient structures were built over two thousand years ago, an not the fact that they are still standing, but that some of them are actually STILL WORKING!

If you want to take an amazing walking photography tour and workshop in this amazing historical environment and landscape, book the Romephotofuntours workshop led by Giulio D'Ercole. -

Tel. +393403552538

© Rome Photo Fun Tours

All photographs by Giulio D'Ercole.

  • White Facebook Icon
  • White Instagram Icon
  • White YouTube Icon