The Acqua Iulia Aqueduct or Acqua Julia Aqueduct in Rome was one of the city’s most important aqueducts, as it supplied water to the most central neighborhoods.
Acqua Julia Aqueduct Rome
History and Description
Like the Acqua Vergine Aqueduct, the Acquedotto Iulia was built by Agrippa and is almost 22km long. The water comes from near the town of Grottaferrata, also the source of the springs that fed the Acqua Tepula Aqueduct.
The Aqua Tepula and the Aqua Iulia therefore partly followed the same underground channels. Near the area now known as Capannelle they ended in a purification reservoir. It is still not clear where the starting point of this conduit was.
After the reservoir the two aqueducts separated, but both used the already existing arches of the Acqua Marcia Aqueduct, which had to be reinforced to handle the much greater pressure.
Later, first the Aqua Marcia, and then the Anio Novus would have to cede parts of their canals to the Aqua Iiulia.
The aqueduct entered the city at Porta Maggiore. From here it used the Aurelian Walls to cross Via Tiburtina over an arch. This arch is now the Porta Tiburtina.
From this point, the Aqua Iulia continued underground, through a part of the city where the Termini central station is now located. The distribution point was located near what is now Via XX Settembre.
The Acqua Iulia and the Acqua Tepula ensured that almost the entire center of Rome was supplied with water. This center consisted more or less of the area that comprised the city’s original seven hills.
In Piazza Vittorio Emanuele you can see the ruins of the Trofei di Mario. This construction used to serve as the monumental fountain of the Acqua Iulia Aqueduct.