The aqueduct was commissioned in 1792 by Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Construction began in 1793 to plans drawn by the architect Giuseppe Salvetti, replacing an earlier aqueduct constructed in the 16th century by Ferdinand de' Medici. Work stopped in 1799 on the death of Salvetti and, because of the political difficulties and upheavals in Tuscany caused by the first disruptive phases of the Napoleonic occupation of Tuscany, did not resume until 1806, when Maria Louisa, regent of Etruria, acting for her infant son, appointed the architect Riccardo Calocchieri to supervise the work. Later, in 1809, during the French occupation of Tuscany and reign of Elisa Bonaparte, Poccianti was appointed by the newly formed "Comune of Livorno" to oversee the project and under his direction work continued until 1824, the date usually considered as that of the aqueduct's completion. However, modifications were always being implemented, and after Poccianti's death in 1858, the project was continued by his successor Angiolo della Valle.