Hearing that we were going to visit an old Roman cistern sounded lame at first, especially as it was our first introduction to the beautiful city of Naples and we were going underground. However, walking down the steps into the massive cavern filled with high arches was much more impressive than I would have thought.
Our guide described how it could have been mistaken for a church because of its grandness and I would have to agree.
It was very interesting to learn about its actual purpose as a water tank that held 5 Olympic swimming pools worth of water for the Roman army stationed there and its people. Every aspect of a simple thing like a water tank was accounted for in its design. They built it so that it could last as long as they maintained it (which was 300 years) with a new kind of plaster for the walls, drainage systems for soil build up, and curves at every corner so that dirt would wash away.
Another part of the tour that was exceptional was the guide. He was a very nice man who was very passionate about the culture of Naples and its future. We even got a look into the past when restoration began with Mussolini who wanted to cement his name through archaeologically, which was another that I didn’t expect. Overall it was a very fun experience that had me considering why our main focus nowadays isn’t to build things that last. I wish our society would plan for the future more like the Romans and build things for future generations.
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