Aqua Virgo

The Aqua Virgo was one of the eleven Roman aqueducts that supplied the city of ancient Rome. It was completed in 19 BC by Marcus Agrippa, during the reign of the emperor Augustus^[1]^[2]^[3] and was built mainly to supply the contemporaneous Baths of Agrippa in the Campus Martius.

At its peak, the aqueduct was capable of supplying more than 100,000 cubic metres (100,000,000 L) of water per day.

The name is thought to be derived from the purity and clarity of the water because it does not chalk significantly. According to a legend repeated by Frontinus, thirsty Roman soldiers asked a young girl for water, who directed them to the springs that later supplied the aqueduct; Aqua Virgo was named after her.

^ Ovid, Fast. I.464
^ Frontinus, de aquis I.4, 10, 18, 22; II.70, 84
^ Pliny. Natural History. p. 36.121.

[1] Ovid, Fast. I.464

[2] Frontinus, de aquis I.4, 10, 18, 22; II.70, 84

[3] Pliny. Natural History. p. 36.121.

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