Managing Water in Toledo 17-10-1561,Toledo (Spain) 1 page, coloured drawing on paper; 59 × 44 cm Spanish State Archives General Archive of Simancas, ES.47161.AGS/5.1/MPD,27,3 Water management has a long tradition in Iberia. With long, hot, dry summers, and certain areas where water is scarce, an efficient and rational use of water has always been a serious issue for the various peoples that inhabited the Iberian Peninsula. The document shows the plan for a machine to raise fresh water from the river Tagus to the Alcazar de Toledo. The plan was designed by Giovanni Turriano ( c . 1505-1585) known in Spain as Juanelo Turriano, an engineer and technical advisor to King Charles I. Born in Cremona, Italy, Turriano moved to Spain in 1529 to serve king Charles I. A brilliant and somewhat eccentric personality, he soon started many other projects and inventions, and participated in different technical enterprises. Turriano started living in the city of Toledo in 1534. The old...