Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
South of the Alps frequently scarcity rather than abundance of water was the
problem cities had to cope with. But scarcity of water did not necessarily prevent
urbanization: we can
nd a highly complicated system of water provision and use in
the city of Siena, one of Italy
s foremost city republics with a population of over
50,000 by the late 13th century. Situated on a hill-top along the highly frequented
via Francigena, the road linking Rome with French cities, Siena has no signi
'
cant
river and only the water which it receives from precipitation, mostly in winter. The
geological build-up of the Siena hills causes rainwater to collect in the soil from
where it surfaces as springs at certain places since the impermeable clay prevents its
further immersion into the ground. Given the need to manage a scarce resource,
Siena developed a highly regulated water policy. Among a speci
ed hierarchy of
uses drinking came
rst; the city tried to ensure compliance to rules by means of
guards watching over public fountains and wells, secret informers and severe
penalties. The water supply rested on a system of urban conducts of spring water
which was conferred to suitable places where they were accessible
rst as drinking
fountains for humans, then as horse troughs and facilities for bathing horses, then as
a series of basins for industrial purposes such as tanning and dying wool. Finally,
after leaving the city the water was used again to drive fulling mills. Thus the purest
water was to be preserved for the most sensitive uses such as human consumption,
whereas polluting uses were located further down the chain of uses. The water
supply rested on three tiers: springs with running water, which was considered
highest quality, wells of ground water and
water from cisterns,
storing earlier rain-falls for the dry season, which however still could be used for
washing or industrial uses. The elaborate system of water networks but especially of
water regulations re
—
least regarded
—
ects the ideology of
'
good government
'
as it was illustrated by
Ambrogio Lorenzetti
s famous frescos in the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena, produced
in the 1340s. And this
'
, which rested on a remarkable degree of
citizen participation, obviously included the
'
good government
'
'
beauty
'
of the city as a high value and
re
ected a high appreciation of public cleanliness despite dif
cult
resource
conditions.
15
Frequently elite house-holds or special institutions organized their own water
provision through small-scale water networks which transported spring water from
just outside the city gravity-fed into the city. There it was conducted by pipes to
private house-holds, monasteries, hospitals, breweries or public fountains. Such
public fountains, often donated by local aristocrats, could be used by the general
urban public to fetch their water and to secure an ample supply of water in case of
re. Public fountains were also symbolically charged places of jurisdiction, for
making contracts and public announcements; cities frequently employed expert
fountain masters who were responsible for the functioning and maintenance of the
city
'
s water system. Polluting or poisoning fountains and wells was a capital crime,
punished by drowning.
16
In most cities the largest quantity of water, at least for
15
Kucher (
2005
).
16
Grewe, Wasserversorgung.
