Milano città d’acqua : canalizzazioni e sistema di controllo delle acque tra età repubblicana e imperiale

As is widely known, in the early 1900s the city of Milan looked very different than today because of its close relations with water: it had a dense network of canals and natural groundwater springs. The origin of this intricate system dates back to the process of Romanization and the beginnings of planned urban development. Since 49 BC, when Mediolanum’s “municipium” was established, the need for new strategies for water supply and defense led to the diversion of some rivers, with the aim of creating a self-sufficient internal water course-network. The urban stratification of Mediolanum from the Middle Ages to the present day has obscured most of the evidence of this system; however, combining certain archaeological evidence with the study of historical and cartographic sources could lead to a real understanding of the city's hydrographic system.