[ANONYME] CUADERNO de la distribución de las aguas potables pertenecientes a esta M.H. Villa de Madrid, formado con arreglo a los titulos de pertenencia y demás documentos que han presentado todos los usufructuarios que en el se espresan en virtud de lo acordado por el Excmo. Ayuntamiento en 5 de Marzo de 1830.

First and sole edition.

The work is devoted to the distribution of drinking water in Madrid, describing in detail the four “journeys” or systems used to transport water from aquifers or wells to the surface. This transport was carried out by underground aqueducts or filtering galleries, taking advantage of gravity and eliminating the need for pumping.

The first, the Alcubilla aqueduct, one of the oldest of those supplying the city of Madrid, carried “fresh water,” i.e., water with a low salt content. It started at the old Chamartín site and ran to the Puerta de Bilbao, from where it ran parallel to the Fuencarral road to the most central districts of the Spanish capital.

The second, the Castellana, supplied water to various districts in the city center, Calle de Hortaleza (Galapagos fountain), etc.

The third, “Alto de Abroñigal,” originated at the source of the Abroñigal stream in the Canillas district; and the fourth, “el bajo de Abroñigal,” which originated between Canillas and Canillejas, ran towards the city along a route parallel to the old Aragon road.

Throughout the 17th century, under the impetus of the Council of Madrid and the Crown, major hydraulic works were undertaken in Madrid to supply the city with water from nearby locations, in an arc that included the east, northeast, and north of the city’s surroundings. To carry out this work, large sums of money were spent and the most advanced technical means available at the time were used. Contemporary documents, chroniclers, and historians refer to these infrastructures as “water journeys.” These were essentially underground conduits, consisting of galleries and pipes, used to transport water from aquifers far from the city to different parts of it by means of gravity. It is generally said that this system was introduced by the Arabs in Spain and that the medieval city of Madrid had abundant water not only from wells or springs converted into fountains, but also from sources far from the destination fountains or ponds, thanks to the “qanats” or conduits built by the latter.

Teodoro Ardemans (c. 1661-1726), a famous Spanish architect and painter, himself conveyed the idea of a city dug into its subsoil at the beginning of the 18th century, thanks to the mines and ditches of the ancient waterways built during the Muslim period.

It was during the 17th century that work began on the construction of the largest and most important water pipes and aqueducts, which were Madrid’s main source of water until the mid-19th century, when water from the Lozoya River, brought in by the Isabel II Canal, began to reach the city.

Provenance

A magnificent example that belonged to the famous Spanish architect Custodio Teodoro Moreno (Estremera, Madrid, 1780 – Madrid, 1854). From the beginning of his career, he was closely linked to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando, an institution in which he held various teaching positions and of which he became the director.

In his career as an architect, he did not distinguish himself as the author of original projects, but rather as a continuator of the work of others. He participated in the construction of the Prado Museum, designed by Juan de Villanueva, the Oratorio del Caballero de Gracia, also designed by Villanueva, for which he designed the main façade by modifying the master’s plans, and the Teatro Real, one of his most remarkable works, faithfully following the plans of Antonio López Aguado.
Between 1833 and 1844, he was commissioned to carry out important work at the court of Madrid as chief architect of royal works. He collaborated on the reconstruction of Madrid’s Plaza Mayor, which had been destroyed by fire, the restoration of the bridge in Segovia (dating from the 1830s), and other minor works.

His art can be considered a continuation of the great masters of Spanish Neoclassicism, such as his teacher Villanueva or Ventura Rodríguez, and an example of the permanence of this style into the 19th century.

An extremely rare work, unknown to Palau. In this copy, the technical numbering on the plates, which does not appear in the copy held at the Biblioteca Nacional (Madrid), has been added here by hand in brown ink.