
Ancient Roman Architecture
8: Aqua Alexandrina
This aqueduct, built in 226 AD, was designed for providing the baths built by Alexander Severus in the year 226. His baths were between the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona, replacing the older baths that Nero had built. It was about twenty-two kilometers long, and reached Rome’s ground level near Spes Vetus, an ancient shrine on the highest point of the eastern side of Rome. The water that traveled on the Aqua Alexandrina was sourced from the Pantano springs, but traveled west instead of following the southern ridge, like all other aqueducts that led to Rome. However, there haven’t been remains found inside Rome between the Porta Maggiore and the landing in Campus Martius. The aqueduct would provide water to remodel one of the heated rooms in Severus’ baths. If it had other purposes, the aqueduct would have been built higher, so that it would be able to provide water to several other locations than just Severus’ baths. This proves that the Aqua Alexandrina was built out of personal need rather than a planned aqueduct that would be built for a greater community. With the Goths’ arrival, the water was cut off from all the aqueducts, and although a few were repaired for a few centuries, the Alexandrina had no further use after Severus’ death.

Due to the fact that water is such an important resource to human survival, it is clear that at least one aqueduct should make it on this list, one of the most impressive, being the Alexandrina. Without water, sanitation and hydration were difficult to manage, while water was further lost through erosion, earthquakes, and sedimentation, along with the invasions where the aqueducts were restricted of water. Because of the style and use, it deserves recognition, and its design is a very nicely added touch for an aqueduct that wasn’t even designed for public use, much less public viewing.