Fucine Lake
Encyclopedia
The Fucine Lake was a large lake
in central Italy
, stretching from Avezzano
in the northwest to Ortuccio in the southeast, and touching Trasacco
in the southwest. It was drained in 1875.
knew the lake as Fucinus Lacus and founded settlements on its banks, including Marruvium. It was the site of the Battle of Fucine Lake
in BC 89
. However, while the lake provided fertile soil and a large quantity of fish, it also harboured malaria
, and, having no natural outflow, repeatedly flooded the surrounding arable land. The Emperor Claudius
attempted to control the lake by digging a 5.6 km tunnel through Monte Salviano, requiring 30,000 workers and eleven years, but with uncertain success. The original lake had a fluctuating area of about 140 km² which the Claudian initiative may have reduced to about 90 km². A 4.5 km collecting canal was extended and deepened by Hadrian
which reduced the area of the lake to about 57 km². The larger 19th century tunnel, along the same route as the Roman tunnel, destroyed most of the archaeology of the Roman tunnel, which is why the success of the earlier Claudian scheme is so uncertain. The deeper Hadrianic canal destroyed the archaeology of the Claudian canal. The final Roman canal has left clear archaeology, showing that 1km from the lake, the tunnel was 7.5 m deep, 19.5 m wide at the top and 4.5 m wide at the base. It sloped to the tunnel at 0.05%.
Some suggestion, or attempt, to restore the Roman drainage scheme appears in both the 13th and 15th centuries but neither succeeded.
engineer
Franz Mayor de Montricher was commissioned by the prince Alessandro Torlonia
to drain the lake. A 6.3 km-long and 21 m-wide canal was begun in 1862 and within 13 years, the lake was completely drained. The resulting plain is one of Italy's most fertile regions, and the source of the River Garigliano
. Antiquities from the Roman occupation of the land, after the first drainage scheme, became part of the Torlonia collection.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
in central Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, stretching from Avezzano
Avezzano
Avezzano is a town and comune in the Abruzzo region, province of L'Aquila. It is the main commercial, industrial and agricultural centre of the Marsica area, with high-tech industries such as a Micron Technology semi-conductor plant, and a large Telespazio satellite farm.-History:There are two...
in the northwest to Ortuccio in the southeast, and touching Trasacco
Trasacco
Trasacco is a comune and town in the province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy....
in the southwest. It was drained in 1875.
Roman drainage
The RomansAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
knew the lake as Fucinus Lacus and founded settlements on its banks, including Marruvium. It was the site of the Battle of Fucine Lake
Battle of Fucine Lake
The Battle of Fucine Lake was fought in 89 BC between a Roman army and a rebel force during the Social War. Lucius Porcius Cato was the leader of the Roman army at this battle. The consul Porcius Cato was defeated and killed while storming a Marsic camp in winter or early spring.There is an...
in BC 89
89
Year 89 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fulvus and Atratinus...
. However, while the lake provided fertile soil and a large quantity of fish, it also harboured malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
, and, having no natural outflow, repeatedly flooded the surrounding arable land. The Emperor Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
attempted to control the lake by digging a 5.6 km tunnel through Monte Salviano, requiring 30,000 workers and eleven years, but with uncertain success. The original lake had a fluctuating area of about 140 km² which the Claudian initiative may have reduced to about 90 km². A 4.5 km collecting canal was extended and deepened by Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
which reduced the area of the lake to about 57 km². The larger 19th century tunnel, along the same route as the Roman tunnel, destroyed most of the archaeology of the Roman tunnel, which is why the success of the earlier Claudian scheme is so uncertain. The deeper Hadrianic canal destroyed the archaeology of the Claudian canal. The final Roman canal has left clear archaeology, showing that 1km from the lake, the tunnel was 7.5 m deep, 19.5 m wide at the top and 4.5 m wide at the base. It sloped to the tunnel at 0.05%.
Drain blockage
As the Empire fell, there was a failure to maintain the Roman drainage scheme. Sediment and vegetation blocked the collecting canal. An earthquake on a fault crossing the collecting canal dropped the land on the lake side 30–35 cm relative to the tunnel entrance. Investigations where the fault crosses the canal show that large amounts of sediment had accumulated in the canal before the earthquake. On the assumption that this earthquake would damage Rome it seems very likely that the earthquake occurred shortly before 508 AD when the earthquake damage to the Colosseum was repaired. The lake appears to have returned to its uncontrolled pre-Claudian area by the end of the 5th century and certainly by the end of the 6th century.Some suggestion, or attempt, to restore the Roman drainage scheme appears in both the 13th and 15th centuries but neither succeeded.
New drainage
In the 19th century, the SwissSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
Franz Mayor de Montricher was commissioned by the prince Alessandro Torlonia
Alessandro Torlonia, 2nd Prince di Civitella-Cesi
Don Alessandro Torlonia, of the House of Torlonia, was an Italian nobleman titled Duca di Ceri, Prince di Fucino. He was the second Prince of Civitella-Cesi, and the son of Giovanni Torlonia. He greatly expanded Villa Torlonia, which was started by his father....
to drain the lake. A 6.3 km-long and 21 m-wide canal was begun in 1862 and within 13 years, the lake was completely drained. The resulting plain is one of Italy's most fertile regions, and the source of the River Garigliano
Garigliano River
The Garigliano is a river in central Italy.It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano"...
. Antiquities from the Roman occupation of the land, after the first drainage scheme, became part of the Torlonia collection.
Literature
- A. Campanelli (ed.) 2001 Il Tesoro del lago, L'archeologia del Fucino e la collezione Torlonia
- Sandro D'Amati 1960 Il prosciugamento del Fucino, Avezzano
- October 1996 Paleoseismology related to deformed archaeological remains in the Fucino plain Implications for subrecent seismicity in Central Italy Annali di Geofisica
- Cesare Letta 1972 I Marsi e il Fucino nell’antichità, Milan.