THE DIANA

Who we are and how we were founded

The Diana Association was born in the first days of March 1994. Within the first few meetings, when the number of members could be counted on two hands, we had declared as our objectives: the study, valorization, and preservation of the bottini (underground aqueducts), monumental fountains, and all of the cultural, historical, and architectural patrimony linked to the waters of Siena.

From one meeting to the next, the number of deeply interested people began to quickly increase: besides the City of Siena, which from the first day assured its full support, fully sharing the goals of the initiative, other groups and individuals enthusiastically joined the effort. They included professionals, students, teachers, working people, and even some other organizations such as the Friends of the Bicycle, the Independent Press Club of Siena, the Speleological Society of Colle di Val d'Elsa, the C.B. Palio Association, and the Archeological Research Association of Siena, who from the beginning hosted our meetings in their beautiful headquarters in the Church of Saint Stephen.

It was immediately evident that, to reach the stated goals, our efforts would have to be divided into several directions of activity: a study group took on the task of probing the historical records; a second group decided to dedicate themselves to the world of the schools, with the objective of making even the youngest students aware of the issues concerning the bottini, the fountains, and underground aqueducts; meanwhile another group of volunteers chose to lead students and interested individuals on guided tours of the sites related to water, after having made all the appropriate arrangements and schedules with the city government. The Speleological Society of Colle di Val d'Elsa, under the direction of qualified city technicians, took charge of surveying the interrupted branches of the bottini and to continuously monitor the entire network of water distribution canals.

The Association thus took its first steps and it was not long before great satisfaction arrived, above all, in the world of the schools, into which we put the our numerous and substantial initial efforts.

On 16 November 1994 the City Council approved the agreement that allowed The Diana to supervise guided tours and to perform minor maintenance of the bottini, one of the principal objectives, even the prime statutory purpose of the Association. The first step to organize guided tours was to train the twenty volunteers who had indicated their willingness to become guides.

Looking back to when The Diana Association was composed of a few enthusiastic fans, endowed with only their goodwill, March of 1994 seems long ago. Now, The Diana has two hundred dues-paying members; an internal newsletter; has shown itself to be at once united yet multifaceted in its members' diverse cultural interests; and most of all, has brought to fruition its initial programmatic objectives in a short span of time.

Nonetheless, the volunteers understand that it would be an error to sit on their laurels: the current, sizeable scope of our work, and the hope shown to realizing future goals, ask a strong commitment from everyone enriched with vision and enthusiasm.

And these elements have been until now the conquering army of " The Diana."