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The cistern in Piazza A. Nota

Plan with the dimensions of the cistern under the squarePiazza Nota with the former Town HallThe cistern was built for the water needs of the building of the Palazzo del Commissario in 1750; it is slightly smaller than the cistern in via Cisterna, 7 x 7 m with a depth of 5 m, it is still half full, the water is clear, a sign that there is a continuous exchange, it is probably fed by an underground vein, just like other wells in the historic centre.


The interior of the cistern, the vault and the hole above itA corner of the cisternThe lowered barrel vault of bricks has a hole in the centre, a clue that may suggest that there was a well above the cistern at that point, but an ancient drawing shows that the access to the cistern was located in the same place as the manhole cover from which the cistern can still be accessed; it is very likely that the hole in the vault was originally closed by an iron grille and was used to channel the water into the tank.



Mr.Mannisi exploring through the manhole coverExploration of the tank on board a dinghyFrom the quick reconnaissance carried out, a small brick tube on one of the walls was noticed: considering that the maximum level marked by the water on the walls is exactly in correspondence with this tube, we can hypothesise that it could be the drain of the overflow or, alternatively, the channel that conveyed the water inside the cistern.
Hole in the tub supply pipe

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