Cascata delle Marmore
The Cascata delle Marmore (Italian: [kaˈskaːta delle ˈmarmore]) or Marmore Falls is a man-made waterfall created by the ancient Romans. At 165 m (541 feet) tall it is the largest man-made waterfall in the world. It is located 7.7 km from Terni, the provincial capital of the Italian region of Umbria. [1]
| Cascata delle Marmore | |
|---|---|
| Marmore Falls | |
 View of the Cascata delle Marmore in full operation | |
| Location | Umbria, Italy |
| Type | Tiered |
| Total height | 165 m |
| Number of drops | 3 |
| Longest drop | 83 m |
| World height ranking | 1st |
Its source is a portion of the waters of the river Velino. After flowing through Piediluco lake near the community of Marmore (Italian), it pours into the valley below formed by the river Nera. The flow of the waterfall depends on an off-and-on scale with a published schedule to support the power company nearby.
History
The Velino River flows through the highlands that surround the city of Rieti. In ancient times, it fed a wetland in the Rieti Valley that was thought to bring illness (probably malaria). To remove the supposed threat to the city of Rieti, in 271 BC, the Roman consul Manius Curius Dentatus ordered the construction of a canal (the Curiano Trench) to divert the stagnant waters into the natural cliff at Marmore. From there, the water fell into the Nera River below. However, that solution created a different problem: when the Velino River was in the flood stage, its water flowed through the Nera toward the city of Terni, threatening its population. This resulted in a problem for the two cities, that remained unsolved for centuries.
The nearby Ponte del Toro bridge was built between 1st c. BC and the 1st c. AD for an additional drainage channel from the Marmore plateau.
Lack of maintenance in the canal resulted in a decrease of flow that eventually allowed the wetland to reappear. In 1422, Pope Gregory XII ordered the construction of a new canal to restore the original flow (the Gregorian Trench or Rieti Trench).
In 1545, Pope Paul III ordered that a new canal be built (the Pauline Trench). The plan was to expand the Curian Trench and to build a regulating valve to control the flow. Upon its completion in 1598, Pope Clement VIII inaugurated the new work and named it after himself: the Clementine Trench.
Over the following two centuries, the canal and the Nera often created flooding issues for the valley below. In 1787, Pope Pius VI ordered architect Andrea Vici to modify the leaps below the falls, giving the falls their present look and finally resolving the majority of the problems.
In 1896, the newly formed steel mills in Terni began using the water flow in the Curiano Trench to power their operation. In the following years, engineers began using the water flow to generate electricity.
Current status
Typically, the water in the canals above the falls is diverted to the Galleto hydroelectric power plant, reducing the flow over the falls. Established in 1929, the Galleto plant has a capacity of roughly 530 MW. Piediluco Lake, situated above the falls, acts as a reservoir for this power plant. To manage the power plant's operation and cater to tourists, the falls operate on a set schedule.
The falls usually flow from 12:00 to 13:00 and again from 16:00 to 17:00 daily, with extended hours on holidays. There is an entrance fee to access the falls and its nearby areas. Visitors can follow a path leading to the falls' summit. En route, a tunnel provides access to an observatory adjacent to the falls. Another observatory near the peak offers a panoramic view of both the falls and the Nera Valley below.
References
- "Cascata delle Marmore | Casale Colline Dolci, Umbria". 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
External links
