The Cisternoni (large cisterns) of Albano Laziale are among the most interesting engineering works carried out in the services for the great military camp built by the emperor Septimius Severus to host the Second Partic Legion.
There are 5 large underground naves that had to collect water and the size of the plant is about 48 and 45.5 meters for the long sides and 29 and 32 meters for the short sides. The 5 naves are supported by 36 pillars and are arranged in 4 parallel rows for a total capacity of about 10,000 cubic meters of water.
According to recent studies, the Cisternoni had been built in place since the first century A.D. and then they would have been enlarged with the arrival of the Second Partic Legion and the creation of the military camp in Albano Laziale.
Originally they were fed by aqueducts and springs and distributed water to the Roman villas and the military camp.
After a period of decline, at the end of the 1800s and until 1912, the Cisternoni were used to feed water to the city. Then, as a result of groundwater pollution, their use was limited to watering the gardens and for civil protection purposes.
The cisterns were then damaged by the Second World War.
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