Talk:Aqua Augusta (Naples)

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I have chopped out: "in order to supplement the Aqua Marcia, and the later the Aqua Claudia when required". The Marcia and Claudia supplied Rome, the Augusta supplied the Bay of Naples. Naples and Rome are about 200 km apart. I doubt whether even modern water engineers would consider shipping water from Naples to Rome. -- RHaworth 04:09, 14 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Sorted! There were two aqueducts with the same name! I am just about to go on hol to Naples - I come to Wikipedia for information and find I have to supply it myself! -- RHaworth 04:26, 14 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I have reverted the latest edit because Misenum was the terminus of the aqueduct. The image is not unsourced, as the caption is clearly labelled. Peterlewis (talk) 05:59, 22 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

I have reverted yet again: there must be a vandal at work here. The picture of the port at Misenum is clearly relevant to the article since this is where the aqueduct ended.Peterlewis (talk) 13:42, 24 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

A/ ref (12) Passchier, Cees W.; Schram, Wilke D. (2005). "Serino (Italy). Aqua Augusta" has a dead link : http://www.cs.uu.nl/,wilke/aquasite/index.html

B/ ref (14) Lorenz, Wayne (June 2011). "Pompeii (and Rome) Water Supply Systems". Wright Paleohydrological Institute. p. 20" (PDF) has a dead link : https://www.wrightpaleo.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Pompeii-June.pdf

Shooting4truth (talk) 21:58, 3 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

the text "It was probably intended for a large villa, or possibly as a strategic water resource for the naval base though it lies about 1 km (0.62 mi) distant." is a claim not supported by any verifiable reference nor the reality of the geography.

On the contrary, more than one verifiable source states that the Piscina Mirabilis was there for the naval base:

A/ Dr. Ing Uberto Potenza, a former director of the local water management company A.M.A.N. (Azienda Municipalizzata Acquedotto di Napoli), who co-wrote a book called "GLI ACQUEDOTTI DI NAPOLI" in 1994 with Bruno Miccio, states in his article " Roman aqueduct of Serino (ulixes.it) " that (translated from Italian):

"The Augustan aqueduct of Serino, moreover, fed numerous rural and seaside villas and multiple thermal groups, before reaching the terminal pools of the "Piscina Mirabilis", with a capacity of 12,600 cubic meters; it was at the service of the new military port of Miseno.

Probably served by the same canal was also fed, at the end of the extensive hydraulic work, the large tank of the Dragonara having a volume equal to about half of the other. The drinking water volumes of this tank were probably at the service of the local town, developed around the new military plant, and of the port workers: it is not certain, however, that this additional storage tank was fed by the aqueduct or rather also filled by rainwater."

B/ De Feo & Napoli (2007) wrote a paper called "Historical development of the Augustan Aqueduct in Southern Italy: twenty centuries of works from Serino to Naples" saying, a.o. :

"The Piscina Mirabilis, situated up the hill facing the sea in order to provide the Classis Praetoria Misenensis, is a gigantic reservoir 72m long and 27m large ..." (p.136)

"Close (to) the Piscina Mirabilis, there are two other large cisterns, probably belonging to large villas, the Grotta Dragonaria and Cento Camerelle (Nerone’s jail)." (p.137)

C/ Giovanni De Feo et al. (2010) wrote a paper called "(PDF) The Greatest Water Reservoirs in the Ancient Roman World and the “Piscina Mirabilis” in Misenum (researchgate.net) " saying, a.o. :

"The Serino aqueduct filled several reservoirs in the section beyond Naples and, in particular, the Piscina Mirabilis. It was located up the hill facing the sea in order to easily refurnish of water the Classis Praetoria Misenensis."

Its Conclusions state:

"... the following particular observations can be made on the Piscina Mirabilis in Misenum:

- the Piscina Mirabilis was probably constructed between 33 and 12 B.C. as the terminal reservoir of the Augustan aqueduct Serino-Neapolis- Misenum;

- it can be considered the biggest Roman reservoir used for military aims ever known until now (supplying the Classis Praetoria Misenensis) with a volumetric capacity of 12,600 m3 of water; "

D/ Del Prete & Varriale (2007) wrote an article called "Breve rassegna sui principali acquedotti ipogei della Campania" [Brief review of the main underground aqueducts of Campania], pp. 75-77, saying, a.o. :

"After Agnano, the aqueduct continued in the direction of Puteoli (Pozzuoli), Tripergole and Baia, ending after more than 89 km in the extraordinary reservoir of the so-called "Piscina Mirabilis". Inside the grandiose cistern, capable of holding over 12,600 cubic meters of water, the Augustan aqueduct of the Serino poured about 20,000 cubic meters of water per day. This was largely used for the "Classis Praetoria misenensis" stationed precisely in Miseno, confirming a predominantly "military" function of the Augustan waterworks without neglecting, however, the main port centers of the Phlegrean area and the privileged places of the "otia" of the Roman aristocratic class."

(Translated from Italian)

E/ Passchier & Schram (2005) on their website "Roman Aqueducts - index page" under the "Aqua Augusta - Serino (Italy)" section head, state:

"...and a new (harbour) complex was built further west, at Misenum, where two lakes were connected to become the basis of the western Mediterranean war fleet. This major naval base needed large quantities of fresh water for the base itself and for the ships, which must have been one of the reasons why Augustus had a new aqueduct built."

and

"The main reservoir filled by the aqueduct is the Piscina Mirabilis in Bacoli (Misenum), which could contain 10.700 m3. Close by are two other large reservoirs, probably belonging to large villas, the Grotta Dragonaria and Cento Camerelle, but both were not filled by the Aqua Augusta aqueduct."

F/ Mauro Cucco writes this on the official website of the municipality of Bacoli"(last update 2023) where the Piscina is located concerning its history :

"Built in the Augustan age, the Piscina Mirabile is the terminal point of the Roman aqueduct of the Serino wanted by the Emperor Augustus... But the main reason for its construction was to supply water to the most important and impressive Roman fleet of the Mediterranean Sea, the Classis Pretoriae Misenesis, which was stationed at the port of the ancient city of Misenum."

(Translated from Italian)

G/ The official site of the Piscina Mirabilis says :

"Piscina Mirabilis is the largest and most monumental cistern of drinkable water ever built by the ancient Romans. It had the function of supplying water to the numerous ships belonging to the Classis Misenensis of the Roman Navy, once moored in the nearby port of Miseno."

and

"Piscina Mirabilis represented the landing and arrival point in Bacoli of the ancient Augustan aqueduct which, from the spring of Serino, located at an altitude of 330 meters and with a journey of 100 kilometers about, brought water to Naples and Campi Flegrei up to the eight meters of Piscina Mirabilis."

As for the geography :

- the site of the Piscina Mirabilis is only 170 m away from the shore of Lago Miseno, an enclosed lake where the military shipyards were located, in bird's view

- the site of the Piscina Mirabilis is only 300m away from the shores of Mare Miseno, the bay open to the sea where the military fleet was located, in bird's view

- a very narrow land strip lies between the Lago and the Mare Miseno, only 100 m wide at its narrowest, where a canal was dug to connect the 2.

Shooting4truth (talk) 22:27, 29 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Concerns ref.5 : "aqua water roman aqueduct aqueduc wasserleitung aquaduct aqueducts ancient facts history spain france italy rome pompeii". www.romanaqueducts.info. Retrieved Nov 26, 2022.

Since the link only leads to a general oversight of 100 selected Roman aqueducts, it is unclear why the reference is made in the first place.

Unless the aim was to link to the specific section in the index ((www.romanaqueducts.info/aquasite/index.html)concerning the "Aqua Augusta - Serino (Italy)" which offers an extensive description by Passchier et al. of the latter.

note: the automatically generated reference description is not very useful either...

So best would be to manually alter the auto-generated reference description in something intelligible, such as, e.g.:

Passchier, Cees W.; van Opstal, Driek; Schram, Wilke D. (2016). "Roman Aqueducts: index : select "Aqua Augusta - Serino (Italy)"". www.romanaqueducts.info.

Shooting4truth (talk) 19:23, 30 May 2023 (UTC)[reply]