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Lake Turano at Castel di Tora: the surprising artificial lake an hour from Rome
Lake Turano stretches for 10 km through the woods of the Monte Navegna and Monte Cervia Nature Reserve, in the province of Rieti. The result of the damming of the Turano river, it sits at 536m above sea level at the foot of Monte Navegna (1508m).
A dam, 3,000 workers and a submerged village
The dam, designed in 1916, had more than 3,000 people working on it. The project was completed in 1938, at a very high cost in terms of human lives — a memorial plaque along the SP 34, near the dam, bears the names of the workers who died during construction. The rising waters submerged farmhouses and the small village of Colle Piccolo, which was rebuilt higher up and given the name Colle di Tora. A 9 km tunnel connects the reservoir to the nearby Lake Salto: together they feed the Cotilia hydroelectric plant, in Cittaducale.
Kayaking, e-biking and the ghost village of Antuni
The lake is open for swimming. Kayaks, canoes, SUPs and pedal boats can be rented at nautical clubs in the Castel di Tora area. For those who prefer dry land, there is trekking to the Vallocchie Waterfall (20 minutes on foot), e-bike excursions and the climb to the abandoned village of Antuni, with the Del Drago princes' palace and the hermitage of San Salvatore perched above the water worth seeing.
