Aqueduct of Vanvitelli

The Aqueduct of Vanvitelli is a 38-kilometre aqueduct that supplied water to the Reggia di Caserta and the San Leucio complex from the foot of the Taburno massif and springs of the Fizzo Contrada, in the territory of Bucciano.

Mostly underground, the aqueduct is noted for its well-preserved, three-tier, 529-metre-long tufa-arched section bridging the Valle di Maddaloni. This section was modelled after Roman arched aqueducts, is 55.8 metres at its highest point, crosses what is now highway SP335. The aqueduct has impressed foreign visitors the most since the eighteenth century. and was designated a World Heritage Site in 1997.

Commissioned by Charles of Bourbon, the aqueduct was designed by and named after Luigi Vanvitelli. Construction began in March 1753 and it opened on 7 May 1762.

At the base of the bridge there is a commemorative work called 'ossuary', inaugurated in 1899, in memory of the soldiers who lost their lives in the battle of Volturno, a clash between Garibaldi's volunteers and the Bourbon troops in 1860 near the river Volturno, during the expedition of the Thousand.

Address
Strada Statale 265 41, Maddaloni, Italy

Established
1753-1762