Aqua Augusta

• The Aqua Augusta or Serino Aqueduct was a Roman Aqueduct supplying water to Naples and seven other nearby cities.
• It was built by Augustus sometime between 30-20 BCE, and completed by 10 CE, making it the fourth longest aqueduct in the Roman Empire.

Route

• The Aqua Augusta supplied water to eight Roman Cities and three Roman Villas, on the Bay of Naples, Italy. The cities were (from Source to Terminus):
  • Pompeii
  • Nola
  • Acerrae
  • Atella
  • Naples
  • Puteoli
  • Cumae
  • Baiae
  • Misenum

Description

• The cost of construction was approximately between 150 and 450 million Sesterces.
• The Aqueduct was almost 87 miles (140 km) in length.
• It started at the Acquaro and Pelosi Springs in the Apennines near Serino, at 1,213 ft (370 m) above sea level, and terminated at the Piscina Mirabilis at the Roman Naval Base of Portus Julius, Misenum at sea-level.
• The Aqueduct ran in tunnels for a great part of its journey, including in parallel to the Crypta Neapolitana road tunnel near Naples.
• In 79 CE the Aqueduct was covered in volcanic ash by the eruption of Vesuvius, and after the eruption of 472 CE, the Aqueduct ceased to function.

The Engineering Required:

• A length of 87 miles (140km).
• A 3.5 miles (6 km) tunnel
• A  1.2 miles (2 km) tunnel into the Sarno Plain.
• The 2 mile (3,5 km) Pomigliano d’Arco Arcade.
• Two 0.6 mile (1 km) tunnels.
• A sea crossing to an island.
• A giant Cistern at the Terminus, known as the Piscina Mirabilis.
• To cope with constant ground movement from volcanic tremors.

In Literature

• ‘Pompeii’
  • This is a novel by Robert Harris and published by Random House in 2003.
  • The story is about a Roman Engineer in charge of the Aqua Augusta, and its link to Pompeii and the eruption of Vesuvius.

Aqueduct of Serafino, Naples