Roman aqueduct · 19 BC · Rome, Italy

Virgo Aqueduct — Aqua Virgo

The Aqua Virgo (Virgo Aqueduct) was one of the eleven major aqueducts that supplied ancient Rome with fresh water, completed in 19 BC by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of the emperor Augustus. Built primarily to feed the contemporaneous Baths of Agrippa in the Campus Martius, it drew from springs in the Salone area east of Rome and delivered water through a largely underground channel of approximately 21 kilometres. The aqueduct owes its name to a Roman legend in which a young girl led thirsty soldiers to the spring that became its source; that same source, continuously exploited through the medieval period, feeds the Trevi Fountain today via the Acqua Vergine conduit, making the Aqua Virgo arguably the most enduring of Rome’s ancient water systems.

At a glance

Type: Ancient Roman aqueduct
Period: Completed 19 BC; still supplying water (as Acqua Vergine) today
Style: Roman hydraulic engineering — largely underground channel
Location: Campus Martius / historic centre of Rome, Italy

Overview

The Aqua Virgo was the freshest and most prized of Rome’s ancient aqueducts, valued for the clarity and cool temperature of its water. It was built mainly to supply the Baths of Agrippa — the first large public thermae in Rome — and ran at a relatively low elevation, which meant it could not serve the higher hills of the city. Unlike the great arched aqueducts of the Campagna, the Aqua Virgo travelled almost entirely underground, making its route less visible in the landscape but also more resistant to the disruptions that destroyed many other aqueducts after the fall of Rome. It is capable of supplying approximately 100,160 m³ of water per day.

History

Commissioned by Marcus Agrippa, Augustus’s general and son-in-law, the aqueduct was completed in 19 BC as part of a sweeping programme of public infrastructure that transformed Rome. The spring source, identified by a young girl according to the founding legend, was located in the Salone area (modern Via Collatina). During the medieval period the channel fell into disrepair along much of its route, but the spring and the lower conduit serving the area of the Trevi continued to function. Pope Nicholas V restored the system in the fifteenth century, and a full Baroque restoration — producing the Acqua Vergine as it operates today — was completed by the seventeenth century, directly feeding the Trevi Fountain constructed by Nicola Salvi in 1762.

What you see

The ancient course of the Aqua Virgo is not visible above ground in most of its extent, but visitors in Rome encounter its legacy at every turn: the Trevi Fountain is the monumental terminal display of the same water system. Fragments of the Roman channel and inspection shafts are occasionally accessible through cultural tours of Rome’s subterranean layers. The neighbourhood of Magnanapoli preserves visible traces of ancient Roman construction above which the aqueduct’s route passed, and several underground sections have been documented by archaeologists beneath the modern city.

Cultural significance

The Aqua Virgo holds a unique place in the history of Rome’s urban water supply as the only ancient aqueduct whose source and general route have been in continuous use from antiquity to the present day. Its legacy — the Trevi Fountain — is one of the world’s most visited monuments, receiving millions of visitors annually and generating the famous coin-throwing ritual that has become a global cultural reference.

Practical information

Location: Route through historic Rome; Trevi Fountain terminus at Piazza di Trevi, 00187 Roma
Coordinates: 41.9026° N, 12.4819° E (approximate route in central Rome)
Subterranean visits: Underground sections accessible through specialist archaeological tours; check operators in Rome
Trevi Fountain: Open 24 hours; best visited early morning or late evening

Getting there

The Trevi Fountain terminal of the Aqua Virgo is in the historic centre of Rome, a short walk from the Spanish Steps and Piazza Barberini (Metro A). Multiple bus lines serve the area. Specialist underground tours of the ancient aqueduct channel depart from various points in central Rome and should be booked in advance.

Sources & resources

Find it on the map

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Historical events at this place (1)

2021 L’ACQUEDOTTO VERGINE

The Virgin Aqueduct (Aqua Virgo) is the only one of the eleven main aqueducts of ancient Rome that has remained in operation uninterrupted to this day, feeding the monumental fountains of the Baroque city, including the Trevi Fountain.



The Trevi Fountain, in the modern age, represents its final exhibition.



Like that of Aqua Iulia, it was built by Marco Vipsanio Agrippa, a faithful friend, collaborator, general and son-in-law of Augustus, and was inaugurated on 9 June 19 BC. Its main function was to be to supply the Agrippa Baths in Campo Marzio.



It collects water from springs near the course of the Aniene, at km 10.5 (VIII mile) of via Collatina (in the locality known since the 11th century with the name of &quot;Salone&quot;).



It is not a real source, but a rather vast system (still functioning and inspectable) of aquifers and springs whose waters, thanks to a series of underground tunnels acting as tributaries, are conveyed into the main conduit, or in an artificial basin, existing until the nineteenth century, which fed the canal by regulating the flow with a dam.



During the journey the aqueduct then acquired other waters coming from various secondary basins.

The entire route measured 14,105 Roman miles (20,471 km), and was almost completely underground except for the last 1,835 m stretch. which ran outdoors or on arches in the Campo Marzio area.



The route made a very wide arc which, starting from the east, entered the city from the north. In fact, it ran along the Via Collatina up to the Portonaccio area, then up to Pietralata and from there it reached the Via Nomentana and then the Via Salaria, to then turn south and cross the areas of the current Villa Ada, the Parioli district, Villa Borghese, del Pincio and Villa Medici, where a spiral staircase in perfect condition and inspectable - called the Pincio snail - still leads to the underground conduit.



Such a long tour is justified both by the fact that the aqueduct was to serve the area of ??the northern suburb of the city, until then without water supply, and by the fact that, being the source at a rather low level (only 24 meters above sea level) it was It is necessary to avoid those strong differences in height that the entrance by the shortest route would have encountered.



Probably the entrance to the city from that side also allowed to reach the Campo Marzio without crossing densely populated city areas.

https://culturalheritageonline.com/places/virgo-aqueduct-aqua-virgo-l2881/

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Virgo Aqueduct – Aqua Virgo