CULTURAL PROMOTION OF THE ANCIENT WATER DISTRIBUTION WORKS AND RECLAMATION OF LAKE FUCINO

Until the middle of the 19th century, Lake Fucino was considered the third largest lake in Italy for surface area. With no natural outlets, the water level frequently rose high enough to flood the surrounding land. To remedy this serious problem, an underground collector, about 6 km long, was constructed in the 1st century AD. Later, due to structural reasons and a lack of maintenance, the entire water work collapsed on itself, returning the lake to its original surface area and bringing back the ageold flooding problem. In the mid-19th century, a new tunnel that partly overlapped the previous one completely drained the lake. At present, both water works are still well preserved, with all their related works, i.e., wells and inclined tunnels, and a new initiative is aiming to restore them for cultural and tourism purposes as part of a project called the Cunicoli di Claudio (Claudius's Tunnels) nature preserve and park.