Technology
The ancient Romans also had a complex system of aqueducts, which were used to transport water across long distances. The first Roman aqueduct was built in 312 BCE. The eleventh and final ancient Roman aqueduct was built in 226 CE. Put together, the Roman aqueducts extended over 450 kilometers, but less than seventy kilometers of this was above ground and supported by arches.
Giovanni Attard
Attard was one of the "capimastri" (master builders) involved in the construction of the Wignacourt Aqueduct. In 1612, Bolognese engineer Bontadino de Bontadini was appointed to take over the project after the Sicilian engineer Natale Tomasucci left Malta after being unable to solve the problem of how water would flow at points where the ground level dropped. Meanwhile, Attard proposed to construct stone arches along the depressions, and running the aqueduct through pipes in the arches. Bontadini adopted this idea, and the aqueduct was built within three years, being inaugurated on 21 April 1615.