Aqua Augusta (Naples)

The Aqua Augusta or Serino Aqueduct (Italian: Acquedotto Romano del Serino) was one of the largest, most complex and costliest aqueduct systems in the Roman world; it supplied water to at least eight ancient cities in the Bay of Naples including Pompeii and Herculaneum. This aqueduct was unlike any other of its time, being a regional network rather than being focussed on one urban centre.

The route of the aqueduct is well known thanks to the writings of two Italian engineers who were asked to see if it could be brought back in use as the main water supply of Naples in the 16 and 19th centuries.

There were ten branches, seven of which were for cities while three were for some of the numerous luxurious villas in this area popular with rich Romans, such as the Villa Pollio at Posillipo. Including the branches, the total length of the aqueduct was approximately 140 km, making it the longest Roman aqueduct, with the possible exception of the Gadara Aqueduct, until the 5th century AD when the Valens Aqueduct was extended in Constantinople. The Aqua Augusta was one of the most difficult and costly aqueducts ever constructed by an ancient civilisation. Despite its size and complexity, the Augusta is today largely unknown as a major monument.

The aqueduct's source, the Fons Augusteus (now known as Acquaro-Pelosi), was in the Terminio-Tuoro mountains near the modern town of Serino not far from the city of Avellino and at 376 metres above sea level. One of its main terminations was the enormous Piscina Mirabilis at the naval base and port of Misenum.

Since the aqueduct traversed such a distance, many difficulties were encountered when building it; 2 km long tunnels were cut through mountains, there was ground movement near the coast due to volcanoes and a sea crossing was needed to the island of Nisida.

There is evidence that a large number of private users were members of the Rome senatorial class. In Rome, a letter from the emperor was required to gain a private connection and so it seems that imperial favour was also a factor in accessing the Augusta’s water.

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