Cortaccione
The history of the Cortaccione aqueduct
If I may digress for a moment, when one thinks of the Romans, it is difficult not to associate them with the aqueduct, one of the great hydraulic engineering works of the ancient world. But did you know that Spoleto, a city in Umbria located just over an hour's drive from Rome, also had its own water supply system since ancient times?
The Roman aqueduct
According to some scholars, the city faced problems of lack of potable water already in Roman times, due to the rocky terrain and the scarcity of underground springs. The solution was to capture the waters of sources outside the city, such as those of the Cortaccione stream, located about one and a half kilometers from the town center.
Archaeological findings
But confirmation comes from archaeological excavations carried out in the 19th and 20th centuries in the locality of Arézzola, along the slopes of the Borgiano mountain. Here, impressive masonry artifacts made of large blocks of local travertine were found, documenting a hydraulic reclamation project implemented in Roman times to counteract the effects of floods of the Clitunno and its tributaries.
The water management system, which is supposed to date back to the end of the Republican era and the beginning of the Augustan era, included a mix of medieval refurbishments on traces of Roman work. Among the main elements found were pipes, gates, drainage tunnels, powerful protective walls, a large water collection basin with successive closures, and lead water pipes.
The Cortaccione aqueduct
But let's turn to the aqueduct that brought potable water to Spoleto: it was the first hydraulic engineering work that exploited the hydraulic reclamation and capture works of Roman origin to the east of the city. The first sources captured were those of the Cortaccione stream and later those of the Vallecchia stream, near Patrico, to which were also connected those of the Valcieca and Giunchete streams.
The waters were channeled through the valley of the Tessino stream and reached the city by crossing a bridge specially erected for this purpose, later replaced in the Middle Ages by the Ponte delle Torri. In the period between 1891 and 1893, the system underwent some changes in the route and important structural modifications, going from an old open channel to a pressure conduit. It remained the main water system of the area until the construction of the new Argentina aqueduct in the early 1970s.
In any case, what is certain is that Spoleto's water system has a millennia-old history, where ancient and modern elements coexist. And even if we don't often remember that behind a glass of water there is a long history of engineering, we can appreciate the value of the archaeological heritage and hydraulic engineering works that have enabled us to have potable water in the city since ancient times.
