At the southern limit of the Loggia Amblingh, where the walls of Vasto once ended, two large Roman cisterns are still visible, which today have been opened towards the promenade and transformed into a characteristic restaurant.
Probably built in the first century AD, they were part of a group of six cisterns that guaranteed the population’s water supply.
The construction of the large cisterns reflects the ingenuity and construction skills of the ancient Romans. Their imposing walls, even over a meter thick, are composed of limestone blocks, carefully squared and arranged in regular rows.
The internal waterproofing was obtained with a plaster based on lime and cocciopesto, a mixture resistant to water and infiltration.
The complex of the so-called “Great Cisterns”, fed by the Roman aqueduct of the Lights, was built in the highest part of the Roman city of Histonium, to ensure the water supply of the public services of the southern part of the city, which also included the amphitheater where naval battles, the naumachie, probably also took place.
The northern part was instead served by another smaller system, called the “Piccole Cisterne”, now transformed into a private cellar in via Valerico Laccetti, which served the spa and was supplied by the Murello aqueduct.
With the end of the Roman era, and the disappearance of the need for water no longer intended for large public systems, the Great Cisterns were also transformed into underground rooms and cellars, placed at the service of the houses above, and as such they were preserved until to our days.
On the contrary, the Luci aqueduct remained in operation until 1926, when it was replaced by the modern Sinello aqueduct. The structure, about two kilometers long and totally underground, is still present, although interrupted in several places by the foundations of modern houses, and cannot be visited.
At least four inspection wells still exist, one of which is located in the Villa Comunale. Furthermore, survey campaigns were carried out to understand how it is possible that the aqueduct still carries water, despite the total closure of the conduit in several points.
It was discovered that this was due to the particular construction technique, which did not only involve the conduction of water from the main source, located near the church of Sant’Antonio Abate, in the hamlet of the same name south of Vasto.
The aqueduct of lights did not follow a linear structure, but developed in irregular segments. This happened because, along its path, it collected water from different areas, where it accumulated thanks to the characteristics of the terrain.