Since the times of the most ancient civilizations, such as the Sumerians, water resources have always represented one of the fundamental problems for the establishment of cities, the initiation of agricultural activities, and the development of trade and craftsmanship. In essence: extracting, transporting, and distributing water to the surrounding territory. An engineering and architectural activity in which, even several millennia later, the Romans excelled. “Whoever will carefully consider the quantity of water in public use for the baths, pools, fountains, houses, suburban gardens, villas; the distance from which the water comes, the conduits that have been built, the mountains that have been perforated, the valleys that have been overcome, will have to recognize that nothing in the whole world has ever existed more wonderful.”

PLINY THE ELDER (23-79 A.D.)

Who better than Uniacque, the fully public-owned company that has been managing the integrated water service in Bergamo and its province since 2006, can tell the underground story of water – thanks to the precious and indispensable collaboration of the speleological groups “Le Nottole” and the Sebynica Association – in a prestigious site like the setting of the Upper Town? The Water Itinerary develops over a stretch of streets and alleys of about 3 km, entirely within the spectacular 17th-century Venetian Walls: it starts from Colle Aperto and ends at the Sant’Agostino Reservoir, near one of the most famous and frequented access gates to the Upper Town. An itinerary – Aquae Ductus Bergomensis – that will take the guest by the hand, guiding them through different historical epochs, where the artistic, architectural, and engineering evolution of the aqueduct complex manifests itself in all its foresight. There are 15 identifying stops on our Tour within the Walls: cisterns, fountains, the historic washhouse of Via Mario Lupo, and other so-called minor sites, but of strategic importance to satisfy the great thirst of Bergomum. The average travel time – calculated, as it should be, at a more “touristic” pace, for those who duly linger on the historical/artistic and architectural beauties – is about 2 hours.

In collaboration with UniAcque