The Pincio and the Water

The Pincio is a symbol of humanity’s ongoing struggle to secure the water it needs: water for survival, water for irrigation, but also water for recreational purposes and even to assert its power. Underground galleries were built to store rainwater, and later, water from the great Roman aqueducts was used. With the decline of the Empire, people once again turned to rainwater. After centuries of drawing water from wells using buckets, a major technological invention made it possible to lift water from the “Acqua Vergine” aqueduct, located several dozen meters below ground. Using a water wheel and a pump, Cardinal Ferdinand de’ Medici demonstrated his power by defying the laws of nature: water was raised to feed a fountain situated more than 50 meters above the aqueduct’s channel. In this way, Ferdinand was able to rival the other princes, in whose villa gardens water flowed in abundance. The exhibition is housed in the 6th-century A.D. “Cistern of the Pillars,” located beneath the Villa Medici. Exhibition curated by Leonardo Lombardi, with support from the IDEAM Society.