Acquedotto duecentesco (Via dell'Acquedotto)

Perugia's medieval aqueduct survives in part as an elevated brick-and-stone walkway, the Via dell'Acquedotto, integrated into the city streetscape.

Why it matters

The aqueduct was a major communal project that supplied water to Perugia's hilltop centre and the Fontana Maggiore. Its later adaptation as a public walkway preserved the urban structure after the water conduit fell out of use.

What to notice

The urban section crosses a valley on brick and stone arches, with the historic covered channel still visible along its upper edge. The construction shows how the aqueduct carried water across difficult terrain while becoming part of the city's built fabric.

Context and history

Built between 1254 and 1277, the aqueduct brought water from Monte Pacciano to the Fontana Maggiore in Piazza IV Novembre. Its flow required ongoing oversight and was altered in the seventeenth century when convent walls obstructed the conduit. The aqueduct fell out of use in the late nineteenth century as maintenance and structural problems accumulated. Its elevated urban section was adapted as a walkway. Recent conservation work has also addressed the outer sections of the monument.