Lake Fucine

Lake Fucine remained an extensive body of water in the Abruzzo mountains throughout the medieval and early modern centuries. Its Roman drainage tunnel, driven towards the Liri valley, survived as an engineering inheritance whose restoration repeatedly attracted rulers and engineers. A new attempt began in 1791, but interruptions prevented a lasting solution.

In 1816 a disastrous flood raised the lake far above its earlier level and renewed interest in drainage. During the following decades its waters also receded naturally: the changing shoreline exposed land as well as threatening it. Restoration work on the ancient outlet continued between 1825 and 1835. By the end of that period the lake still existed, and the relationship between its fluctuations and the surrounding limestone basin remained a subject of investigation.