In Italy there are many lakes and rivers but you should know that in the past there were also large ones such as Lake Fucino. This is located in Abruzzo on theCentral Apennines and is today a fertile valley.
Here you can find out in depth what this lake is and what it was like. You will also know its history and you will know why it is important. Today, as in the past, rivers and lakes greatly influence the life of the inhabitants and the morphology of the territories crossed.
Lake Fucino: what is it and how was it?
Lake Fucino was located at an altitude of 669 meters in the territories where today is the town of Avezzano. It had an area of 155 square kilometers and its waters had a maximum depth of 20 meters.
Here lived numerous animals such as swans, storks, wild ducks and other species of birds. The waters of the lake were transparent and was surrounded by many trees such as olive trees, poplars and firs. The meaning of its name has various origins The Greek poet Licofrone made it derive from the term shiny while according to another theory it derives from the mouth of water.
In ancient Rome this was one of the favorite places for vacation as the mild climate allowed you to spend the summer relaxing. All this is testified by the remains of Roman villas found in these places. With time the floods became more and more frequent and dangerous.
The history of the drying up of Lake Fucino
The history of Lake Fucino is very old and you should know that the first attempts to drain this basin date back to the time of Julius Caesar. In fact, due to a terrifying flood it was decided to drain the lake to make the land cultivable. Construction began under Emperor Claudius in 52 D. C.
The objective was to convey the water into the Liri river with an underground canal under Mount Salviano. The project failed due to numerous landslides. In the medieval period the emissary of the Fucino closed completely and this returned to be a closed basin. Later many attempts and projects were undertaken but only in 1852 it became concrete. The main shareholder was Prince Torlonia who managed to complete the mammoth work.
In 1870 began construction of the main canal to carry out the hydraulic arrangement of the basin. Later roads were built for a total length of 50 kilometers and the land was divided between the municipalities and inhabitants as well as Torlonia. In 1886 the peasant wars in Torlonia for the possession of the lands began. In the new lands settled many settlers from various areas of Italy such as Romagna, Marche and other areas of Abruzzo.
Lake Fucino the third largest lake in Italy
Today Lake Fucino is a fertile valley of Abruzzo on the central Apennines but two centuries ago it was the third largest lake in Italy. In fact you have to know that if this particular ranking had been made two centuries ago the result would be as follows. But as we have seen, Lake Fucino has been drained.
Among the largest lakes in Italy the first place is occupied by Lake Garda that touches three different regions of northern Italy and has an extension of 370 square kilometers. Located in a wide valley is a lake of glacial origin and has as its main outlet the river Sarca and as an immissario the Mincio. The second largest lake is 212 square kilometres.
