Galermi Aqueduct
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Acquedotto Galermi | |
 A piece of the ancient bridge channel for the mills, connected to the Galermi aqueduct; situated within the Parco archeologico della Neapolis | |
| Location | Provincia di Siracusa, Italy |
|---|---|
| History | |
| Periods | Ancient Greek Sicily |
The Galermi Aqueduct is an ancient subterranean aqueduct; the longest and most important aqueduct of Syracuse. It gets its name from the Galermi area, a place name of uncertain origin, but perhaps from the Arabic for "Water hollow".[1] Fazello called the aqueduct Conductus pulchrae foeminae (meaning Conduit of the modest woman)[2]
Dug into the living rock, it was originally around 40 km long, bringing water directly from Monte Lauro. In later times it was shortened to a length of 29 km, drawing water from the sources of the Calcinara river, near Pantalica down to the higher parts of the city, near Neapolis. It carried around 500 litres per second. The work is considered a masterpiece of hydraulic engineering and conformed to the instructions later given by Vitruvius for the optimal slope. It is noted by him that this aqueduct, compared to other Greek aqueducts, had a great level of precision and was constructed with finesse.
In the course of construction, several inspection wells were built, with steps down carved in the rock. The wells not only allowed access but also allowed the excavated material to be removed and, once construction was completed, allowed the identification of blockages and breakages should water flow out of them.
