The viaje de aguas de Argales hydraulic project

The viaje de aguas de Argales was constructed between the late 16th and early 17th centuries to provide water to the city of Valladolid. The project, carried out with the collaboration of monarchs, the city council, monks, and local families, fructified in the so-called viajes de aguas, conducciones for transporting the water from the manantiales to the urban fountains. Originally, eight water sources were planned, but only three were built: Puerta del Campo, Fuente Dorada, and Rinconada.

The remaining five sources, Angustias, Chancillería, plaza de la Universidad, Prado de la Magdalena, and San Andrés, were not built. The aqueduct, known as viaje de aguas de Argales, is 5 kilometers long, with 32 arcas or boxes to collect, regulate, filter, and save the water from levels. Twenty-seven of these arcas are outside the city, with only 14 of them still preserved. They are built from stone and have a quadrangular plan, a door, a north-facing window, and a pitched roof.

The first of these, denominated Arca Real, was completed in 1589 by Diego de Praves. Of the three sources built in the original project, only two persist today: Fuente Dorada and Rinconada.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons