"Água Livre" Necklace

"Água Livre" Necklace


Carving its way through the hills of Lisboa is the Aqueduto das Águas Livres, a monument with deep, sweeping arches that is re-imagined in this range by a stand-out gold necklace that celebrates these distinctive vertical curves. The aqueduct is a vast system for collecting and transporting water using gravity. It was built in the 18th century by the king's order as there was an insufficient water supply within the city of Lisbon.

This remarkable hydraulics engineering system has a 14km long main section starting in Belas at Mãe de Água Velha and ending at the Mãe de Água das Amoreiras, a water reservoir in Lisbon.

In the 19th century the Águas Livres Aqueduct system was about 58km long, inside and outside of Lisbon.

I walked along the 35 extraordinary limestone arches of the Alcântara valley last year for the first time and couldn't help feeling a sense of awe and pride of all those workers that faced this tough challenge 200 years ago.

 

Vents or skylights provided the lighting for the water conduits ensuring that they were supplied with oxygen, in order to guarantee the safe quality of the water.

Row of different-sized pointed arches shadow projected on the ground. The largest pointed stone arch is 65 metres tall; the 35 arches of Alcântara valley cover a length of 941 metres.

Água Livre Necklace, 2020

Água Livre Necklace, 2020