AMERICAN EXPRESS PARTNERS IN PRESERVATION
Segovia, Spain
Segovia Aqueduct (1st century A.D.)
Constructed
in the second half of the first century A.D., the Segovia aqueduct
is one of the best preserved Roman aqueducts in the world — it was still
being
used to provide water to the city in the early twentieth century — and
it
remains the city’s most prominent symbol.
While the aqueduct remained standing for almost two thousand years, the threats posed by modern civilization, particularly automobile traffic and pollution, threaten its survival into the next century. The ashlar masonry used to build it is particularly vulnerable to these threats: as blocks are exposed to weathering and pollution, their flat sides and tight joints erode and become rounded, destabilizing them. The structure is also weakened by vegetation growth, traffic vibrations, and water leaking into the arcades from the upper channel.
The preservation project for the aqueduct includes the development of a conservation and management plan for the site that addresses not only urgent physical needs of the monument, but also its context within a modern urban environment in Europe.
