Sistemi di captazione e trasporto delle acque in città dell’Italia Centrale

All cities, even those located along a river and then with an aquifer easily reachable by wells, had to solve the problem of pure water supply. Depending on the geological nature of the soil, usually were built systems fed by artesian sources, linked to city by aqueducts often consisting in underground galleries, but sometimes also in outside monumental arcades. Elsewhere, in highly permeable soils, drainage canals were built, extended even to tens of kilometers. All these aqueducts brought the water to public fountains, normally consisting of simple architectural elements, but in some cases so great as to be among the main decorative urban monuments. The water supply systems of Colle Val d'Elsa, Siena, Arezzo, Perugia, Gualdo Tadino, Assisi, Senigallia, Bologna, are examined, with their network of water collection, purification and distribution, together with the city inner networks and their main monumental fountains.