Name of Monument:Qanat (inside the Psychiatric Hospital) Location:Palermo, Italy Date of Monument:12th century Period / Dynasty:Fatimid/Norman Description:Qanats are underground drainage channels that collect aquifer water and bear it from considerable depths to within a few metres of ground level. The qanats discovered in Palermo are of the Arab-Persian type, but differ from their Eastern counterparts in that they are not fed by a real well, but by a transversal drainage gallery located upstream. View Short DescriptionIn the ground beneath Palermo there is a network of drainage channels that carry aquifer water from significant depths up to ground level. These complex Arabo-Persian-inspired hydraulic engineering works are known as the qanat, and they guaranteed the continuous and spontaneous flow of water from underground aquifers to the surface. How Monument was dated:The discovery of ceramic fragments from the 12th and 13th centuries in two qanats in the central area of the Piana dei Colli (Castelforte and Scalea I) confirm their existence in Sicily from that time at least. Selected bibliography:Todaro, P., Guida di Palermo Sotterranea, Palermo, 2002. Citation of this web page:Pier Paolo Racioppi "Qanat (inside the Psychiatric Hospital)" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. 2024. https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;ISL;it;Mon01;7;en Prepared by: Pier Paolo Racioppi
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