Rome itself was served by eleven aqueducts that transported over half a million cubic meters of water into the heart of the imperial capital every day—that is, about 500 liters per person.[18] The aqueducts provided water for drinking, bathing and public fountains. Even now, the water in the Trevi Fountain is supplied by an aqueduct dating from the first century CE. The water supply made living in a city the size of Rome possible—a point Pliny the Elder understood when he wrote: “there is nothing to be found more worthy of our admiration throughout the whole universe.”
