Evora - Part 4 - Aqueduct

17 November 2007

Cities require water and if its a hilltop city that usually means water transported from elsewhere, especially once the city’s consumption exceeds the capacity of rainwater cisterns.

Between 1533 and 1537 the Aqueduto do Água da Prata (Silver Water Aqueduct) was constructed at a significant cost and involved unprecedented use of engineering and human resources. Covering 18 km with a drop of little more than 30 meters it was a feat of Renaissance engineering celebrated by poets and chroniclers.

Isn’t it amazing that they spaced the arches far enough apart to accommodate 20^th century traffic?

The aqueduct, of course, ran right into the city

eventually being distributed to the fountains of the central plaza.