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At 91.208 km, the Marcia Aqueduct is one of the longest Roman aqueducts of all, built in 144 BC by the magistrate Quinto Marcio Re, to transport water from the springs located in the upper Anio valley not far from Arsoli. The excellent quality of Aqua (water) Marcia has been acclaimed since ancient times.
A sizeable section of the aqueduct can been seen in the Casale district of Roma Vecchia, where channels from the Tepula and Giulia aqueducts that also followed this route as far as Porta Tiburtina, were superimposed. Long stretches of the aqueduct were either utilized or destroyed during the building of the Felice Aqueduct, and portions of it, built on tall, arched bridges can be seen at Tor Fiscale, Mandrione and between Porta Maggiore and Porta Tiburtina.
The Marcia underwent major repairs in 33 BC during the reign of Marcus Agrippa and again, between 11 and 14 BC under Augustus. He in fact, increased its capacity by linking it to another water source named Augusta, and the work he had one out is recorded on the upper part of Porta Tiburtina along with details about the significant restoration work carried out under Titus in 79 AD and Caracalla in 212-13 AD. Hadrian and the Severi Emperors later commissioned yet more restoration work.
When the large Baths of Diocletian were built, supplied by water from the Marcia, it became necessary to build an additional channel. The restoration work carried out under Diocletian can be seen along the conduit, whilst work carried out by Arcadius and Honorius is documented by inscriptions on buildings. Water from the Marcia supplied 10 districts; the Celio and the Aventine neighbourhoods got their water from the rivus Herculaneus that broke away from the Marcia just before Porta Tiburtina, running into a underwater conduit that ran as far as Porta Capena.