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The Grande Waterfall of Isola del Liri: 27 metres of cascading water in the heart of Ciociaria
The Cascata Grande (Grande Waterfall) is the only waterfall in Italy to plunge into the very heart of a town’s historic centre. Falling from a height of 27 metres, it forms where the River Liri divides into two branches at the Boncompagni Viscogliosi Castle. The left branch creates this vertical drop, the right the more modest Valcatoio Waterfall. The spectacle can be seen from Ponte Napoli on Corso Roma, or from the terrace of the Galleria Eustachio Pisani — just a few yards from the curtain of water.
The castle that divides the waters
The travertine spur on which the castle stands has forced the Liri to split into two since the year 1000. The fortress belonged to the Della Rovere family; in 1579 Pope Gregory XIII donated it to his son Giacomo Boncompagni, who made it the seat of the Duchy of Sora. In the 17th century, Costanza Sforza transformed the stronghold into a noble residence, with frescoes and formal Italian gardens. Today it is privately owned, and can be visited by appointment.
The Manchester of Italy
In the 19th century, the hydraulic power of the Liri attracted French industrialists such as Carlo Lefebvre, with paper mills, wool mills and felt factories springing up. Isola became the papermaking hub of the Kingdom of Naples, and later of the whole of Italy. Many of the factories have been closed since the 1980s, but the former Lefebvre paper mill, the Dutch vats, the Boimond Continuous Machine can still be seen, kept as industrial archaeology memories.
