engleski

Extension of the Ragusan aqueduct from the spring in Knežica, 1518-1520: common concern of the government and people for the common good

The archives of the Dubrovnik Republic file a codex containing data on the connection of the Knežica spring with the main aqueduct in 1518-1520 which has not been used in the studies of Dubrovnik’s water supply to date. The data from this small volume reveal the community’s efforts to improve the water supply of the city. The construction and maintenance of the water supply system involved many citizens and inhabitants, from noble overseers, engineers, master builders and craftsmen to workers and peasants. The Ragusan government played an essential role in this collective project by ensuring the people’s right to natural resources, that is, to the common good – happiness and welfare of the citizens. This meant the achievement of the medieval ideal of good government and well-governed community, a theme introduced to Croatian historiography by Igor Fisković. Good government makes the city an ideal society whose main purpose is liberty, happiness and well-being of its citizens. The office-holders’, citizens and inhabitants duty to the public welfare was at the basis of the Ragusan social consensus, civil self-consciousness and patriotism which strengthened the power of the community and stood as the basis of the Republic’s continuity.

Middle Ages, Dubrovnik Republic, common good, aqueduct, Knežica spring

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