About
This cliffside aqueduct was thought to be Roman for many years, although it actually originates from the Middle Ages.
In the northwestern corner of Italy, in the town of Antey-Saint-André, an ancient, little-known aqueduct hugs the hillside. Dating back to the ninth century, the medieval aqueduct, known as Ru Du Pan Perdu, was originally built as an irrigation canal. The structure would collect water falling from mountainside streams and funnel it to the agricultural land below. From the 17th to the mid-19th centuries, European wealthy young people would embark on these Grand Tours across Europe and the Middle East, often spending months or even years away. One such tourist, Edward Whymper, who climbed Mount Everest in 1865, wrote about seeing the aqueduct in his diary: “One sees from the path, at several places on the right bank of the valley, groups of arches which have been built high against the faces of the cliffs.”
