Lake Ampollino

Lake Ampollino is an artificial lake located in Sila. Construction of the barrage began in 1916 and ended in 1927. King Victor Emmanuel III took part in its inauguration. This lake has a special characteristic, in fact it bathes three different provinces, that of Cosenza, that of Crotone and that of Catanzaro. It was the first artificial reservoir to be made in Sila. It was built by the Società Meridionale Elettrica by damming the course of the Ampollino River for the purpose of creating a hydroelectric reservoir. It is connected by a penstock to Lake Arvo from which it receives additional water. Its waters come to feed the Orichella power plant, located at 800 m, making a 480 m drop. Its waters are then collected in a compensation basin, from which they then head to the second power plant, the Timpa grande power plant, located at 541 m. Then the waters are again collected and directed to the third power plant, that of Calosia in the territory of Cotronei. After the Calosia power plant, the waters flow into the Neto River and are used for irrigation purposes by spraying the plains of the upper Crotonese Marchesato. Upstream, Lake Arvo and Lake Savuto feed it during periods of drought . The lake is connected to Lake Arvo by a tunneled pipeline. The barrage is carried out downstream by a curved masonry dam with ordinary gravity, 129 m long and 29.50 m high (according to official data), although some data report the height of the dam at 26 m, and the village Trepidà was created to build it near it. Being in communication with Lake Arvo, the fish species are almost the same: trout, royal perch, chub, tench, carp and minor cyprinids.Research directed by the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Calabria has identified an important settlement from the ancient Bronze Age (2000-1800 BC) on the shores of Lake Ampollino. In the Fiume Tassito locality, the remains of a double-arch bridge from the Imperial Roman period are visible, evidence of the ancient road system that crossed Sila in ancient times. In 2005 the Ampollino rose to international attention for the alleged sighting of an aquatic reptile similar to a plesiosaur or the Loch Ness Monster. The alleged sighting was never denied or confirmed.