Pandemic Diaries - Italian Interlude 9 October 2022 - La Cascata delle Marmore

9 October 2022 – La Cascata delle Marmore

 

One of the special trips at La Romita is to the huge waterfall called La Cascata delle Marmore.  The total height of the waterfall is 165 meters, or about 541 feet.  There are three tiers to La Cascata, and the tallest tier is 272 feet (or 83 meters).  The top tier is the tallest, with two shorter tiers at the base of the waterfall.

 

What makes it even more spectacular is that this waterfall was created by the Romans some two thousand years ago!!!  And this is the tallest man-made waterfall in the world!!!  It really is mind-boggling, to realize that this huge waterfall was created by people over 2000 years ago, without the assistance of any mechanized tools or equipment.  Just digging by hand, schlepping rocks to line the canals, and continuing the back-breaking labor for years and years.  And then revising the canal, rebuilding and reinforcing it, again over the centuries.  Wow, people are stubborn and persistent!

 

My first class, the watercolor class, was only seven days, so we didn’t have a chance to visit La Cascata delle Marmore – literally, the Waterfall of Marmore.  My second class, the pastel class, was a ten-day class so La Cascata was our Sunday trip.

 

The history – this is my summarization of the information we received at La Romita, so I don’t know the original source:

 

Above what is now Terni and the Cascata delle Marmore, there is a city of Reiti, near the Velino River.  The Velino is a tributary of the Nera River, which runs through Terni.

 

In ancient times, the Velino fed a huge wetlands in the Reiti Valley, and it was believed that giant marshland brought illness (likely malaria).  So, in 271 BCE the Roman consul Manlius Curius Dentatus ordered construction of a canal (the Curiano Trench) to divert the standing water and have it fall over the natural cliff at Marmore.  This created the waterfall, and all that extra water flowed down into the Nera River.  However, when the Velino was in flood stage, that caused flooding around the Nera and the city of Terni.  Big arguments and debates – things were so heated and contentious that the Roman Senate addressed this issue in 54 BCE.  (Cicero represented the city of Reiti!)  No solution was reached, and over the years the Curiano Trench fell into disrepair, decreasing the flow and causing the wetland to reappear.

 

So, Pope Gregory XII to the rescue, ordering a new canal to be built in 1422 (the Gregorian or Reiti Trench).  In 1545, Pope Paul III ordered an expanded canal be built (the Pauline Trench), bigger, better, and with a regulating valve to control the flow of water and hopefully solve the flooding downstream.  About 50 years later, in 1598, this canal was completed, and Pope Clement VIII inaugurated it, naming it after himself, the Clementine Trench.  Over the next two centuries, flooding along the Nera continued.

 

Finally, in 1797, Pope Prius VI ordered modification in the leaps below the falls; architect Andrea Vicki designed/oversaw these changes, giving the falls their present look and pretty much resolving the problems.

 

 In 1896, the new steel mills in Terni began using the waterflow in the trench (whatever its name finally became) to power their machinery.  In subsequent years, the water flow has been used to generate hydroelectric power.

 

Now, in modern times, the water flowing through the canal continues to generate electricity.  But the water to the waterfalls is regulated by a giant valve, so that tourists can continue to enjoy these amazing cascades as well as the innovative building technology of the Romans.

 

Amazing, right?  The Romans weren’t the most benevolent rulers, but they certainly built some major public works and buildings!

 

We lost some time because the highway was closed for some bike race (I think), so our driver had to take some detours and reroute.  So we weren't able to arrive just before 10 AM and see the water flow begin, as had been planned.  Oh well, it was beautiful any way!

 

We were dropped off at the top, and most of us planned to hike down and then back up.  The path started out paved and with a railing along most of the downhill sections.  But then it dropped precipitously, and the paving gave out, leaving steps of dirt with protruding rocks and roots.  Yeah, it looked rather treacherous to those of us over a certain age, especially those of us with knee or ankle issues.  Plus I kept remembering my fall during the summer, and I tried not to replicate that.

 

So when we came to the dirt steps buttressed by small planks of wood, several of us decided that was far enough.  We hung out in the little tower overlooking the falls, admiring the gorgeous view and enjoying the sunny day outdoors.  We marveled at the rainbows created by the mist rising from the thundering waters.  We took tons of photos, sometimes using the viewing windows to frame the shots, sometimes just standing at the railing and getting the entire view.

 

Then we headed back to the top and had a cappuccino.  (Yes, cappuccino was sort of a theme during this trip.)  Turns out only one very brave and hardy soul from our group made it all the way to the bottom and back up again!   

 

Eventually, we all gathered again and found our bus.  Our driver, Alessandro, drove us back to La Romita for our usual wonderful lunch, and most of us used the afternoon for painting time.  This is when I worked on the painting of the sbandieratori of San Gemini.

 

All in all, another wonderful day at La Romita!