Aqueduct of Colognole

The Acquedotto Leopoldino and the neoclassical cisterns of Livorno were part of a sophisticated scheme to not only provide water to Livorno, but also clean it. The scheme was centred on the 18 km long aqueduct which runs south to north bringing water to the city from Colognole. This feat of engineering first carried water to the city in 1816, long before its completion. It was Livorno's sole water supply until 1912, still serving some areas of the city.

The aqueduct was commissioned in 1792 by Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Construction began in 1793 to plans drawn by the architect Giuseppe Salvetti, replacing an earlier aqueduct constructed in the 16th century by Ferdinand de' Medici. Work stopped in 1799 on the death of Salvetti and, because of the political difficulties and upheavals in Tuscany caused by the first disruptive phases of the Napoleonic occupation of Tuscany, did not resume until 1806…