If it had been made known and produced, an invention of the Prince’s which would have been remarkably useful to civil society was certainly the hydraulic device. Perfected as early as 1739, it was the result of his passion for mechanics and hydrostatics since youth.

The device was conceived in such a way that – in the words of its inventor – “with the action of only two devices, similar to two trumpets”, water could be pushed up “to any height” required, and “without the work of any kind of animal”. The device created by di Sangro merited “the applause, and the praise of the most expert in the art”.

In these terms, the Prince of Sansevero explained the possible applications of his “most useful” creation: “using it in countries where river water is lacking, you can make use of other (water) from collected rain for the use in mills and for making cloth or other things, and this can be done, because water itself always runs from top to bottom, and is then pushed up and then back down again”.