Cisternone Romano

The "Cisternone of Castellone", dating back to the 1st century B.C, is an imposing underground Roman cistern shaped length wise by rows of limestone pillars subdividing the structure in four naves with pseudo cross-vaults. Located on the top of the ancient Roman acropolis, nowadays the medieval area of Castellone, the Cisternone was supplied with the water coming from the sources of the hills in the area of St. Maria la Noce in order to guarantee the water-supply to the ancient town of Formiae. It shows a strong structural resemblance with two of the most important cisterns of the ancient world, the "Piscina Mirabilis" of Miseno and the famous "Yerbatan Saray" of Istanbul; it can be considered an important step forward in the archeological recovering of the Roman hydraulic engineering. Surrounded by an evocative and charming atmosphere, the visitor becomes the protagonist, absorbed in a space-related dynamic environment and involved in a motion leading towards the "core" of the structure: the original entrance to the ancient water reservoir. Sounds, colors, games of lights and shadows animate the space, revealing new and particular perspectives, and from every corner the visitor perceives an ancient atmosphere.