L'organizzazione idraulica del territorio come valore da preservare: regole giuridiche e 'buone pratiche' nel mondo romano

Archaeological research often documents that the Romans, after taking possess of the territories of a conquered people, maintained preexisting infrasctructures, especially hydraulic and road infrastructures. A very important example is in Samnite territory near Solopaca in upper Campania, where the Romans found and maintained the so-called 'vie cupe', that is to say the hollows that descend from mount Taburno, and that, in the event of aevy rains, allowed water to be challened by turning into streams. However this respect for pre-existing and well used organisation was not only the result of ancient common sense, but was also the subject of a real legal rule, even when the Romans undertook a radical reorganisation of the conquered territory, namely centuriatio. The Roman jurists gave the name of vetustas to such an arrangement of territory, which exixsted from time immemorial and deserved to be preserved.