Page - 161 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

10 SyracusanWaterNetworks inAntiquity 161 Fig. 2:Syracuse, sectionofNinfeo Aqueduct. of theseperiods. In the first case, it couldhavebeenconceived in thegeneral project following thepolitics of theDeinomenidsandwas intended to supply thegrowingpopulation in thenew districts of the townbelow. In the secondone, it couldhavebeenoneof the componentsof the great project ofKingHiero II in this part of Syracuse. TheParadisoaqueduct TheParadiso aqueduct,which takes its name from thehomonymous quarry inwhich it termi- nates,ofaknownlengthofabout3000mtoday,alsopresentsanorth/southdirectionandverti- cal inspectionshaftsof adepthof4mdownstreamtoalmost 30mupstream,but the intermedi- atedistancecanvary from14to30m.22Therectangular inspectionshaftswereenclosedby large slabs of limestone, someofwhichhavebeen incisedwith theGreek letterΛ.At the level of the Paradiso latomia, the aqueduct splits into several branches to supply various sectors. Themain pipe feeds a tank near the amphitheatre (the so-called Roman pool of San Nicolò) and heads towards theamphitheatre,where it suppliesa recently identified fountain.23Another ramification goes eastward and towards the domestic and artisanal districts of Neapolis, and perhaps the fountain inPiazzadellaVittoria.CavallariandHolmhadcalculated its inclineat0.6%.With the state of the art in this aqueduct,wehaveno idea of its date, nor its potential customers nor its 22 Cavallari –Holm1883, 125f.; Guzzardi 2000;Messina 2009;Arenaet al. 2018, 8. 23 Arenaet al. 2018, 8.