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Aqua Fontis Aureae (the water of the golden fountain) (1 of 2)

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• Aqua Fontis Aureae (the water of the golden fountain) (1 of 2)

Water is the key feature in this area, since without water it would be impossible to preserve this place and to integrate it into the complex.
During the rule of Augustus, the first Roman emperor between the years 27 BC to 12 AD, the growth of Cordoba forced the authorities to build the first aqueduct of the city. Until then, Cordoba had drawn its water supply from wells in aquifers. The first aqueduct was initially called the Aqua Augusta and later renamed to the Aqua Vetus. This great aqueduct could supply between 25,000 and 35,000 cubic metres of water daily, over a distance of 19 kilometres, most of them underground.
Over 100 fountains were built in Cordoba as part of a great construction project during the reign of Tiberius, in the 1st century. The second aqueduct was built during the reign of the emperor Domitian (81-91 AD) when Cordoba reached its economic and cultural peak. The new aqueduct was called the Aqua Nuova Domitiana Augusta, and supplied less water, but together with the Aqua Vetus, Cordoba had one of the best water supply systems of the whole Roman Empire.
There was a third aqueduct, built during the decline of the Roman Empire at the site of the current bus station. It was named the Aqua Fontis Aureae, due to the fact that the aqueduct supplied water through a golden fountain. This aqueduct supplied the pools of the Cairuán Street, the moats of the walls and the pools of the Alcazar of the Christian Kings with water.