Water Management in Rome, 16th-19th Century: a work in progress"
P. Buonora

Abstract:

The visible waters of the town (the Tevere river, the fountains) hide in time a more complex hydraulic network, that worked using the river for discharging waters more than for water supply; the paper try to demonstrate that the center of the system can be focused mostly on waters coming from other sources than on the river waters.

The genesis of the system can be individuated at the beginning of modern age, especially in the period of the demographic growth of the XVIth century; in spite of the importance of some hydraulic structures of the ancient Rome, the system has an original character comparing to the past, that can be related to a general model of hydraulic urban system very common in all the towns of Central Italy.

The elements of this model are: the character of general system; the complete separation of clear and dirty waters circulation; and the alternative utilization of waters, for domestic and irrigation use and for energy supply to mills.

The evolution of this system in XVI-XIXth century pose the problem: do we see the history of the complete realization of this model or the history of a failure? Considerations are made about floods and about the Tiberina isle, and comparing other urban cases.

With the new river control of the end of XXth century the traditional model of water supply disappear; in this process both technology and demography play an important role.