Marmore Falls: a man-made miracle created by the ancient Romans

An hour's drive from Rome, in the heart of Umbria, in the middle of a green valley dotted with medieval villages, there is a man-made miracle created by the ancient Romans - the Marmore waterfall. This waterfall was included in the list of must-see places for all aristocrats who went on a trip. 160 meters high, Marmore is one of the highest waterfalls in Europe.

Once there was no waterfall here, but just water flowed from the Velino River, which connected to the Nera River. These territories are rich in limestone, and over the millennia the Velino River formed a travertine cork, which caused the valley of the Nera River to turn into a lake, and its banks began to swamp more and more. This provoked other problems: the loss of farmland and malaria, from which local residents constantly suffered.

That is why it was decided to drain water: in the III century BC. a channel, the length of which exceeded a kilometer, was pierced in the travertine rock. It was here that the waterfall appeared. And then the problem was solved: the lake disappeared, and the swamps dried up.

However, other problems appeared: periodically, the Nera valley, on the banks of which the city stood, suffered from floods. And it was more difficult to deal with this: some suggested increasing the flow of waterfalls, others - closing the canal. As a result, the issue remained unresolved for several centuries until a hydroelectric power station was built here at the beginning of the 20th century. She helps to cope with the flow. True, the waterfall because of her began to work on schedule, only two hours a day, and on holidays a little longer. However, is it not a miracle that the structure that the ancient Romans created still functions, even if it was modernized.

And the waterfall is magnificent - it is about 160 meters high and consists of three steps. Byron wrote about his beauty; many artists painted him in his paintings. And it’s worth seeing it, if only because of respect and love for the culture of the past.