Lake Turano (RI)

Lake Turano is an artificial reservoir in the province of Rieti, in eastern Sabina, with the water surface at an elevation of 536 meters above sea level, a length of about 10 kilometers and a perimeter of about 36. You reach it from Rome in just under an hour and 40 minutes: A24 to Carsoli, then the provincial road to Collalto Sabino and Castel di Tora. Alternatively, take the Salaria to Rieti and then come down the Turano valley. The four lakeside municipalities are Castel di Tora, Colle di Tora, Ascrea and Paganico Sabino. There is no ticket to pay: the lake is freely accessible, the equipped shores are run by the municipalities and by private operators who have opened kiosks and rentals there, and access to the water is free except for the loungers and canoes you rent on site. You don't need to book anything for the trip around the lake. It's worth calling the restaurants in the villages beforehand, though, since out of season they open on reduced hours and on August weekends they fill up by noon. The best period runs from late May to late September for the water, from mid-October to mid-November for the woods.

Useful contacts, all verifiable on the institutional sites of the respective bodies: Comune di Castel di Tora, Via Don Sabino Gentili 11, 02020 Castel di Tora (RI), phone 0765 716313. Comune di Colle di Tora, Via Colle della Madonna 1, 02020 Colle di Tora (RI), phone 0765 716139. Comune di Ascrea, Piazza Mareri 1, 02020 Ascrea (RI), phone 0765 723112. The Monte Navegna and Monte Cervia Regional Nature Reserve is based in Varco Sabino and coordinates the network of trails on the northeastern side of the basin. Those arriving without a car must allow for a road transfer from Rieti station: intercity buses exist, but their frequencies are designed for residents and should be checked the day before on the regional carrier's website.

A premise: Lake Turano is not a natural lake, and this changes everything. The water level fluctuates by several meters over the year because the basin works, it produces power, it is drawn down and refilled according to the needs of the power plant. Whoever arrives in April finds an amphitheater of red earth with houses that seem very far from the shore. Whoever returns in July finds a lake full up to the little walls. They are two different places, both real, both photographable. Those who expect the motionless postcard of an alpine lake are thrown. Those who accept the game come back.

Where Lake Turano Is and How to Get There

The basin occupies the valley floor of the Turano river, between the buttresses of the Carseolani Mountains and the Navegna massif, in a fold of the Apennines that administratively belongs to the province of Rieti but geographically looks as much toward the Rieti Plain as toward the Marsica. It is this border position that explains why you get there easily from two opposite directions and badly from all the others.

From Rome to Lake Turano by Car

The quickest way is the A24 Rome-L'Aquila motorway to the Carsoli-Oricola exit, then the state road 5 Tiburtina Valeria for a few kilometers and the climb toward Collalto Sabino. From there a narrow, pleasant provincial road comes down to the lake at Castel di Tora. It is about 90 kilometers and, traffic permitting, an hour and 35 minutes. The second way is the Salaria to Rieti and then the Turanense provincial road southward. It adds about 20 minutes but gives you the view of the dam and of the canyon downstream of the barrier. The third, for those with time, is the provincial road that climbs from Rocca Sinibalda via Posticciola. You reach the lake from below, you see the wall of the dam first and then the water, and the sense of what happened here in 1939 becomes immediately clear.

A practical warning that no navigator gives: the road around the lake is a single carriageway, a little over five meters wide in several stretches, with dry-stone walls and blind hairpin bends. On July and August weekends, when motorcyclists and cyclists add to the cars, the full loop takes twice the theoretical time. Anyone driving a camper or a long van should do the math before committing to the counterclockwise direction: a few bends above Ascrea require a maneuver.

From Rieti to Lake Turano

From Rieti you go down the Turano valley for about 30 kilometers, passing through Rocca Sinibalda with its castle and then Posticciola. It is the historic route, the one followed by the valley's farmers before the reservoir cut the valley-floor road. The trip takes a good 40 minutes because the provincial road is winding. In return it is the only route that lets you see the river before it becomes a lake, which helps a lot in understanding the geography of the place.

Lake Turano by Public Transport

Frequently Asked Questions About Lake Turano (RI)

How Much Does It Cost to Visit Lake Turano?

Visiting Lake Turano costs nothing: the lake and the villages that overlook it are freely accessible and there is no entrance ticket. You only pay for services, such as paid parking in high season in some villages, the rental of canoes, pedal boats and loungers in the equipped areas, and what you consume at the kiosks.

How Was Lake Turano Created?

Lake Turano did not exist before 1939. Until that year the valley was a narrow agricultural valley floor, with mills, vegetable gardens and wheat fields. The Posticciola dam blocked the Turano river to produce electricity and to spare the Rieti Plain the ruinous floods that regularly inundated it.

Can You Swim in Lake Turano?

Yes, in summer people swim in Lake Turano, there are equipped shores and kiosks, and the bottom in the frequented areas is acceptable. The basin remains an artificial reservoir for hydroelectric use, though, not a beach resort. The areas where swimming is allowed and any seasonal limits are set by the ordinances of the lakeside municipalities.

Is Lake Turano Suitable for Children?

It works well if you choose the right base: Colle di Tora is the village best suited to families because the lakefront is flat, the equipped areas can be reached without climbs and the pedal boat and canoe rentals are within stroller reach. Castel di Tora, with its stairways and sloping alleys, is splendid but demanding with small children.

Is the Water Level of Lake Turano Always the Same?

No, Lake Turano does not have a stable level, because it is a regulation reservoir that stores water in the rainy season and releases it to the turbines when power is needed. Between the end of winter and late spring the surface can drop by several meters, uncovering stretches of shore that are normally submerged.

What Can You See on the Antuni Promontory at Lake Turano?

Antuni is an uninhabited hamlet of Castel di Tora, an empty town at about 696 meters of elevation on a promontory that the lake has almost turned into an island. The medieval core was born at the beginning of the 11th century, with the first documentary mention in 1092, and today it can be reached on foot from the village of Castel di Tora.

When Is the Best Time to Photograph Lake Turano?

It's best to go around the lake counterclockwise starting from Castel di Tora in the early afternoon, not in the morning, because the most photogenic shore of Lake Turano, the one that includes the Antuni promontory, faces southwest and in the morning is backlit and flat.

The nearest rail connection is Rieti station, on the Terni-L'Aquila-Sulmona line. From Rome it is more comfortable to get there by bus, with direct runs taking a little under two hours. From the Rieti station intercity bus lines leave for the municipalities of the Turano valley, but the frequencies are calibrated to school and work commutes: two or three runs a day on weekdays, almost nothing on Sundays. Those without a car who still want to see the lake should base themselves in Castel di Tora or Colle di Tora for at least one night, otherwise the risk is spending more time waiting than looking. For organized groups the problem doesn't arise: the coach reaches the squares of the two villages, and for the logistics of such a day you rely on those who work with groups in Italy, like the TourLeaderPro network for group travel.

Cycling Around Lake Turano

The full road loop measures roughly 35 kilometers with a total elevation gain of around 700 meters, spread over continuous ups and downs rather than a single climb. It is not a route for beginners, and above all not a route for mid-August at two in the afternoon: the asphalt on the south-facing side becomes a griddle. The clockwise direction, starting from Colle di Tora, puts the hardest climbs in the first half and leaves the panoramic descent for the return. Reliable water points: the fountains in the villages, not the shores.

Lake Turano in Numbers

It's worth fixing a few figures, because fanciful measurements circulate about Lake Turano. The water surface is at 536 meters above sea level, the maximum regulation level of the reservoir is set at 540 meters. The length of the lake, measured along the axis of the submerged valley, is a little under 10 kilometers. The length of the shoreline, counting all the inlets of the side ditches, reaches about 36 kilometers, which explains why the drive around always seems longer than the map suggests. The catchment basin is that of the upper and middle course of the Turano river, which rises in the Carseolani Mountains.

The peak that dominates the northern shore is Monte Navegna, 1,507 meters. Opposite, beyond the Salto valley, Monte Cervia reaches 1,438 meters, and between the two the Filone stops at 1,328. The difference in height between the lake surface and the summit of the Navegna is thus almost 1,000 meters over a very short line of sight. That is why the view from above is so vertical, and why the climbing trails have no flat stretches.

The fact that most surprises first-time visitors concerns the swing in level. A regulation reservoir like this one can see its surface drop by several meters between the end of winter and spring, when the stored water is run through the turbines, then rise again with the snowmelt and the rains. The bared shores you see in those months, with the trunks of submerged trees resurfacing and old little walls coming back to light, are a spectacle in themselves. Whoever plans a day of swimming, however, has to know it: in some years, in late spring, from the wall of the lakefront at Colle di Tora to the water there are tens of meters of dry mud.

How Lake Turano Was Created: The Posticciola Dam

Lake Turano did not exist before 1939. Until that year the valley was a narrow agricultural valley floor, with mills on the river, vegetable gardens, wheat fields and a road linking the towns perched on the slopes. The decision to dam it arose from two needs that added up: producing electricity for industry and sparing the Rieti Plain the ruinous floods that regularly inundated it.

The Turano Dam

The barrier was built near the settlement of Posticciola, a hamlet of Rocca Sinibalda, at the point where the valley narrows between two rock walls, not far from Stipes. The construction site was run by the Società Terni, the great Umbrian electrochemical and steel group that in those years was building the entire hydroelectric system of the central Apennines. The work was inaugurated in 1939 by Benito Mussolini, with the regime choreography that accompanied all the hydraulic inaugurations of the period. The maximum regulation level of the reservoir is 540 meters above sea level.

Whoever arrives from downstream sees the wall from below, and the perspective is the right one: you understand how narrow the gorge was and how little it took, in terms of width, to hold back a lake 10 kilometers long. It is the kind of detail that on the page is read distractedly and in front of the structure becomes evident in three seconds.

The Tunnel Linking Turano to Lake Salto

The truly remarkable part of the system isn't seen at all, because it runs under a mountain. Lake Turano and the nearby Lake Salto, created in the same years, are linked by an artificial channel about nine kilometers long and two and a half meters in diameter, dug under the Navegna massif. The waters of the two basins, put together, have a total flow on the order of 35 cubic meters per second. In practice the two lakes work as a single reservoir: when it's convenient, water passes from one to the other under the mountain, without ever seeing the light.

It's worth remembering at the point where the road climbs toward Ascrea and you see the Navegna in all its mass: under those beech woods, right now, a river is flowing inside a pipe. It is an image that stays with you more than any technical figure.

The Cotilia Hydroelectric Plant

The waters of the two reservoirs feed the Cotilia hydroelectric plant, in the territory of Cittaducale, which went into operation in 1942. From there the water that has run through the turbines is returned to the Velino upstream of Rieti, closing the cycle. Ownership of the plants has changed several times over the decades, passing from the Terni to the successive arrangements of the Italian electricity industry. Whoever wants the updated information should look on the current concession holder's website, because it is a matter that moves. What doesn't move is the function: the Turano is a lake that works, and its beauty is a side effect of an industrial work.

What Ended Up Under the Water

On the Turano the submersion was less dramatic than on the Salto, where entire settlements disappeared and were rebuilt from scratch. Here the reservoir mainly erased cultivated valley-floor land, mills, bridges and the historic road network. The most striking effect was geographical: some rises that had been hills found themselves peninsulas, and the Antuni promontory, which before was a knoll above the valley, became that sort of island held by a thin isthmus that everyone photographs today. The landscape that visitors judge natural is less than a century old. It is the most beautiful paradox of this place, and it has to be told in full.

A Curiosity About Lake Turano (RI)

The curiosity I like best concerns the names of the two towns that face each other at the center of the basin. Castel di Tora and Colle di Tora have been called that only since 1864: before, they were respectively Castelvecchio and Collepiccolo. The change was not a 19th-century whim of antiquarian taste, but an act of identity. The newborn Kingdom of Italy asked municipalities with the same names to distinguish themselves, and here they chose to recover the name of the ancient Sabine city of Tora, which scholarly tradition placed in this valley. Two towns looking at each other across the water decided, in the same year, to declare themselves heirs of the same vanished city.

The good part is that the claim was not groundless. In the territory of Castel di Tora a Roman necropolis of the imperial age has been identified, referable to roughly AD 200, and the local toponymy preserves ancient traces in more than one place. On the Paganico Sabino side there is also a "Pietra scritta", an inscription of the Roman age that is one of the epigraphic documents of the valley. That the Roman settlement stood exactly where the 19th-century scholars imagined it is another question, and prudence requires treating it as a hypothesis. That the valley was inhabited and organized in the Roman age is instead documented.

Then there is the tragic side that gives depth to the name. The local hagiographic tradition places the martyrdom of Saint Anatolia, in AD 251, right in ancient Tora. She is still venerated today in the sanctuary dedicated to her just outside Castel di Tora. For centuries, in this valley, the name of Tora was first of all the name of a martyrdom. In 1864 two municipalities took it back. Less than 80 years later, the water of the dam covered the valley floor where that name was born. If you are looking for a way to describe Lake Turano to someone who has never been there, start here and not with the postcard.

The Villages Overlooking Lake Turano

Four municipalities face directly onto the water, a fifth dominates the valley from a higher elevation. Added up, they come to fewer than 1,000 residents. These are numbers to keep in mind: there is no tourist machine here, there are small towns that fill up for three months a year and for nine months live on their own. The visitor who remembers this is treated much better.

Castel di Tora, the Most Beautiful Village on Lake Turano

Just under 300 inhabitants, a hill jutting out over the water, inclusion in the circuit of the Borghi più belli d'Italia. The first document that names it dates to 1035, with the formula Castrum Vetus de Ophiano, and for over eight centuries the town was called Castelvecchio. Of the medieval castle, set up around the year 1000, what remains is the pentagonal tower that rises above the roofs: an unusual plan, dictated by the rock it sits on more than by a choice of school. The parish church is dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist. In the square, the Tritone fountain of 1898 is the point where everyone stops without knowing why, and the reason is that the alley leading to it is one of the few points where the village opens up.

The urban structure is the thing that is really worth it: very narrow alleys marked by reinforcing arches, stairways connecting the levels, covered passages, and under all this caves and cellars dug into the living rock. They are spaces that served to store wine and provisions and that tell of a precise mountain economy. The visit of the village deserves a chapter of its own: you will find it on the page dedicated to Castel di Tora, where the town is told street by street. For those organizing the day one thing matters: the parking is at the bottom, the climb is steep, and those with mobility problems must know before leaving.

Colle di Tora, the Peninsula on Lake Turano

A little over 350 inhabitants, and a position that the lake literally invented. Before 1939 Collepiccolo was a ridge town at 600 meters above sea level. After the reservoir it found itself on a promontory surrounded by water on three sides, connected to the mainland by a thin strip. It is the village with the most usable lakefront: the lakeside promenade is flat, there are equipped areas, canoe rentals, kiosks. It has no monuments of rank, and it would be dishonest to claim otherwise. In compensation it has the best views over the whole basin and over the mountains of the Cicolano, and a sunset that in summer comes very late because the sun goes down behind the Navegna only at the last.

Colle di Tora should be used as a logistical base and not as a destination: it is easier to park, you eat, you rent the canoe, and from there you move to the other villages. The Comune has its seat at Via Colle della Madonna 1, telephone 0765 716139.

Ascrea and Monte Navegna

A little over 200 inhabitants on a rocky spur at the foot of the Navegna, in a dominant position over the middle Turano valley. Ascrea is the youngest of the lake towns: it formed between the 11th and 14th centuries through the progressive depopulation of two older villages, Bulgaretta and Mirandella, and the first document that names it is from 1392. It passed from the Mareri to the Farnese, then to the Soderini and the Gentili. It experienced two administrative moves in the 20th century that tell how mobile the boundary of this valley is: in 1923 it passed from the province of Perugia to that of Rome, in 1927 to the new province of Rieti.

For the hiker Ascrea is the most natural starting point toward the Navegna and toward the gorges of the eastern side. The Comune has its seat at Piazza Mareri 1, telephone 0765 723112. The town has no structured tourist services: anyone going up in the morning for a long hike should bring water from the valley.

Paganico Sabino, the Balcony Over Lake Turano

Just under 160 inhabitants, the smallest municipality of the reservoir and one of the smallest in Lazio. Paganico Sabino looks at the lake from above, on a slope that gets little sun in winter and in summer stays cool until mid-morning. Here too the administrative story is that of Ascrea: Perugia until 1923, Rome until 1927, then Rieti. In the municipal territory the already mentioned "Pietra scritta" is preserved, an inscription of the Roman age that is one of the few epigraphic documents surviving in the valley.

Paganico is the village visitors skip most often, and it is a mistake. The viewpoint over the basin, with Antuni emerging opposite, is the place where you understand the shape of the lake better than from any other shore.

Collalto Sabino Above the Turano Valley

Collalto Sabino is not lakeside in the strict sense: it stands higher up, on the slope that separates the Turano valley from the Carsoli plain, dominated by a castle that can be seen from kilometers away. It is part of the circuit of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy and is among the municipalities of the Monte Navegna and Monte Cervia Nature Reserve. Whoever comes from the A24 passes right in front of it: it is worth the 20-minute detour, especially in autumn, when the woods around the castle change color before those of the valley floor.

Antuni, the Abandoned Village on Lake Turano

The promontory that pushes into the water opposite Castel di Tora carries an empty town on top. It is called Antuni, it is an uninhabited hamlet of Castel di Tora, and it stands at about 696 meters of elevation on a rise that the lake has almost turned into an island. The medieval core was born at the beginning of the 11th century. The first documentary mention is from 1092, when families of Lombard tradition donated their possessions to the abbey of Farfa. Between the 16th and 18th century the fief passed through the hands of the Brancaleoni, the Cesarini, the Mattei and the Lante della Rovere. Around 1816 the Del Drago bought it, nobles of Viterbo origin, and in 1832 Pope Gregory XVI raised the possession to a principality. Since then the palace at the top of the hill has been the Palazzo dei principi Del Drago.

The end came in two stages. First the reservoir of 1939, which cut the village off from the valley-floor road network and compromised its agricultural economy. Then the bombings of the final phase of the Second World War, which struck the settlement. In the 1950s the town was completely empty. Recovery began in the 1990s and continues in fits and starts. On the hill the hermitage of San Salvatore is also preserved, of 14th-century layout, and in 2015 a plant labyrinth was inaugurated that gave the promontory a second life as an events venue.

The complete story of the village, with the sequence of feudal families and the current state of the restorations, is on the page dedicated to Antuni, the ghost town. What I add here is the practical advice: the climb to the promontory is made on foot from the parking lot you meet on the road between Castel di Tora and Colle di Tora, requires about 20 minutes of walking on a slight slope and is not demanding, but in summer it should be tackled early in the morning or after 18:00. The path has no continuous shade. And the palace is not always accessible: openings depend on events and construction work, so anyone going to see the interiors should phone the Comune of Castel di Tora first.

Something Nobody Tells You About Lake Turano (RI)

No guide writes it, and yet it is the first thing to know: Lake Turano does not have a stable level, and the calendar of its swings does not coincide with the holiday calendar. A regulation reservoir stores water in the rainy season and releases it to the turbines when power is needed. The result is that between the end of winter and late spring the surface can drop by many meters, uncovering a band of bare shore that regulars call, without affection, the belt. In those months the stumps of trees cut before the submersion resurface, the lines of the old roads, the odd dry-stone wall. Some photographers go there on purpose.

The practical consequence is clear. Whoever plans a swimming day and picks a Sunday in May without checking risks finding the shore tens of meters from the wall, with a bottom of dry silt cracked by the sun that invites nobody. Whoever arrives in late July instead finds high water and the beaches reduced to a strip. There is no tourist bulletin that publishes the level. The most reliable way is to phone the kiosk or rental where you intend to go and simply ask what the water is like. Nobody takes offense, quite the opposite.

The second thing that goes unsaid concerns temperature. Lake Turano is deep and fed by mountain waters: even in midsummer, below the first few meters, the thermocline is felt abruptly. Whoever runs in from a sunny little beach and swims toward the center crosses a notable temperature difference in a few minutes. It is a warning to take seriously. Swimming at the Turano is done near the shore, in shallow water, or with proper equipment. The shores do not have continuous lifeguard assistance like a seaside beach: supervision depends on the operators of the individual equipped areas and does not cover the whole perimeter.

Third point, the least intuitive: the shore that looks most inviting, the sunny one with the gentle bottom, is also the one where the afternoon wind picks up in summer. The Turano is wedged between two slopes and in the early afternoon a regular valley breeze develops, the same one that makes the place interesting for sailing and windsurfing. For those in a canoe with children, that breeze is a problem: the crossing that was easy on the way out becomes work on the way back. You set out upwind and come back with the wind behind you, never the other way around.

The Monte Navegna and Monte Cervia Nature Reserve

The northeastern side of Lake Turano falls within the Monte Navegna and Monte Cervia Regional Nature Reserve, a protected area established in 1988 and later redefined by Lazio regional laws number 29 of October 6, 1997 and number 28 of October 5, 1999. The current extent is about 3,563 hectares, spread over nine municipalities in the province of Rieti: Ascrea, Castel di Tora, Collalto Sabino, Collegiove, Marcetelli, Nespolo, Paganico Sabino, Rocca Sinibalda and Varco Sabino. The managing body's seat is in Varco Sabino. The page dedicated to the Monte Navegna and Monte Cervia Reserve goes into the details of management and itineraries.

The Reserve's Mountains Above Lake Turano

The three peaks that structure the protected area are Monte Navegna at 1,507 meters, Monte Cervia at 1,438 and the Filone at 1,328. The Navegna is the true ruler of Lake Turano: you see it from every point of the shore and it determines the afternoon shade. The Cervia looks instead toward the Salto basin. Between the two runs, underground and invisible, the tunnel linking the two reservoirs, which makes this reserve the only protected area in Lazio crossed by an artificial river in a pipe.

The Woods of Lake Turano

The prevailing forest cover is the cerreta, the Turkey oak wood that occupies the intermediate elevations. Going up you pass to mixed broadleaf woods and, on cool exposures and at higher elevations, to beech forest. In clearings and on rocky slopes open grasslands and dry herbaceous formations, which in May and June produce blooms of wild orchids. It is a classic Apennine mosaic, and it is exactly the close variety of environments that explains the faunal richness of an area that, in terms of surface, is small.

The Animals of the Monte Navegna and Monte Cervia Reserve

At the top of the food chain is the Apennine wolf, present and monitored. Among the mammals are the pine marten, the badger, the wild boar and the roe deer. Among the birds are the golden eagle, the peregrine falcon and several species of woodpeckers. The fact that always astonishes is another, though: 14 different species of bats have been recorded in the reserve, some among the most threatened at the European level. The caves, the old cellars of the villages and the natural cavities of the valley offer shelters that have vanished elsewhere. If on a June evening you sit on the lakefront at Colle di Tora at dusk and see small fast shadows over the water, they are not swallows: they are bats hunting the insects that rise from the lake.

The Vallone dell'Obito

Among the natural features of the reserve the most spectacular is the Fosso dell'Obito, a gorge cut deep into the limestone rock on the eastern side. It is one of those places where Lazio stops looking like Lazio: vertical walls, gravel, water that flows in stretches and in stretches disappears, rock vegetation. Walking it requires experience and suitable equipment in several points, and conditions change with the rains. It is not a hike to improvise on a Sunday afternoon in sneakers. Whoever wants to see it should contact the managing body or a licensed guide.

Trails Around Lake Turano

The reserve's hiking network links the shores of Lake Turano to the villages and the ridges. The trails are marked, but maintenance varies from year to year and some secondary tracks get lost in the undergrowth in late summer. The official map of the managing body is the reference to obtain before setting out.

The Climb to Monte Navegna from Lake Turano

It is the area's main hike. The usual starting points are Ascrea and the passes reachable by car on the Varco Sabino side. The total elevation gain, starting from the lake, exceeds 900 meters, and the full round trip takes a day. From the summit, on clear days, the view takes in the Turano basin, the Salto basin, the Velino-Sirente range to the east and, toward the west, a portion of horizon that in the best conditions reaches as far as Rome. Local legend has it that from the heights of this valley you can make out the dome of St. Peter's on north-wind days. There are serious people who swear they have seen it, but looking for it can cost more than an afternoon without success. Check for yourselves.

The Ring of Villages Around Lake Turano

For those who want to walk without taking on 1,000 meters of elevation gain, the solution is the low ring linking Castel di Tora, the Antuni promontory and the shores toward Colle di Tora. It runs between 530 and 700 meters of elevation, alternates stretches of dirt road and trail, and in three or four hours gives a complete understanding of the shape of the lake. It is the route for mixed groups, the ones with people who like walking and people who like it less.

Rules to Follow in the Reserve

Stay on the marked trails, don't pick flowers or minerals, don't light fires, keep dogs on a leash. Mushroom picking is subject to authorization under regional and municipal rules: anyone arriving in September with a basket should ask the municipalities first, because checks exist and so do penalties. The area is a zone with a stable presence of wolves: not leaving food scraps is not a courtesy, it is a safety measure for the animals themselves.

The Advice I Give You for Visiting Lake Turano (RI)

There is only one piece of advice and it is worth more than all the others put together: go around the lake counterclockwise starting from Castel di Tora in the early afternoon, not in the morning. The reason is optical, not capricious. The most photogenic shore of Lake Turano, the one that includes the Antuni promontory and the front of Castel di Tora, faces southwest. In the morning you have it backlit and it looks flat, with the villages in shadow and the lake dazzling. From 15:00 on the light turns and the stone walls take on color. Whoever arrives at nine, makes the loop and leaves again at two has seen the worst possible version of the place and goes away convinced it is overrated.

The second part of the advice concerns duration. Lake Turano is a destination for a full day or for two days, not for half a morning. The drive around without stops takes less than an hour, but a trip without stops is wasted time: here the value is in walking up into the villages, sitting in a piazza, walking to Antuni, eating without hurry. A schedule that works: arrive around 11, lunch at Colle di Tora or Castel di Tora, afternoon on the Antuni promontory, return in low light and stop at the Paganico Sabino viewpoint. Those with two days should add the climb to the Navegna on the morning of the second.

Third recommendation, against the current: avoid Ferragosto. Not out of snobbery, but because the carrying capacity of this valley is limited and in the three or four central days of August the villages' parking lots are full by 10, the single-carriageway roads jam and the restaurants run on forced shifts. The same day, moved to the first week of September, costs the same and is worth three times as much. And if you have to pick a single week of the year, the best is the second one in October: water still high, woods turning, restaurants open on the weekend, no lines.

A last note for those traveling with a group or who want to be accompanied: this is a valley where a guide radically changes how the day turns out, because the key places have no panels and distances deceive. Whoever is looking for a licensed guide for the Rieti area can start from the network of professionals of TourLeaderPro, which works with groups throughout Italy.

Swimming and Water Sports at Lake Turano

The most frequent question concerns swimming, and the answer deserves precision. At Lake Turano people swim in summer, there are equipped shores and kiosks, and the bottom in the frequented areas is acceptable. The basin, however, is an artificial reservoir for hydroelectric use, not a beach resort. The areas where swimming is allowed and any seasonal limits are set by the ordinances of the lakeside municipalities and by the regional classification of waters. Before setting out with children, a phone call to the relevant municipality or a look at its notices settles the matter in three minutes and avoids surprises.

Canoeing, Kayaking and SUP on Lake Turano

This is where the Turano does its best. The surface is wide, enclosed, free of currents, and early in the morning it is a mirror. Paddling at dawn along the Antuni shore, with low mist rising from the water and the empty village emerging above, is one of the best experiences Lazio offers to anyone with a paddle in hand. The rentals are mainly on the lakefront at Colle di Tora and in the equipped areas of the more accessible shores. They operate from late spring to early autumn, and on low-season weekdays it's best to book by phone.

Rule of prudence: you hug the shore, you don't cut across. A straight-line crossing between two shores exposes you to the afternoon wind and greatly lengthens the time to get back if the breeze picks up. And you wear a buoyancy aid even if the water is calm, because the temperature below the surface is what it is.

Sailing and Windsurfing

The afternoon valley breeze makes Lake Turano usable by dinghies and boards. It is not a strong-wind racing course. It is a thermal-wind basin, regular and predictable, ideal for learners and for those who want to sail in controlled conditions. Combustion engines on watercraft are subject to limitations: anyone planning to bring a motorboat should check the rules in force with the lakeside municipality and the reserve's managing body, because the regulation is local and changes over time.

Paragliding on Lake Turano

Since 2017 the sky over the reservoir has been visited by acrobatic paragliding pilots, who use the slopes and the water surface below for their maneuvers. The aerial images that circulate of this lake, the ones that show the serpent shape of the basin and Antuni as an island, almost all come from there. If you are on the shore on a day of activity, remember to look up: the colorful canopies over the dark water are a spectacle nobody expects in a corner of Sabina.

Fishing in Lake Turano

The Turano is a fishermen's lake, and seriously so: fishing pressure is constant all year and the banks at the classic spots are taken well before dawn on weekends. The fish community of an Apennine reservoir of this type includes cyprinids and freshwater predators introduced over the decades. The exact composition and any protected species change with restocking and regulations, so the correct reference is the Lazio Region fishing calendar and the rules of the protected area's managing body.

What you need to know before setting out with a rod: a valid fishing license is required, closed seasons and minimum sizes must be respected, and in the portions within the nature reserve additional rules beyond the general ones may apply. Anyone fishing from the shore should keep the swing in level in mind: a comfortable spot in August can be inaccessible in April, and conversely a stretch uncovered by the drawdown can open positions that are underwater in summer.

Personal opinion, from someone who has seen many shores: the Turano is one of the few Lazio lakes where fishing coexists well with tourism, because the shores are long and uses are spread out. The only serious point of friction is garbage, and it is not the fault of the local fishermen. If you bring a line, bring a bag too.

Another Well-Known Fact, Yet Rarely Cited

Everyone knows Lake Turano is artificial. Almost nobody connects this fact to the twin and far more dramatic story that played out a few kilometers away in the next valley. Lake Salto, formed in 1940, is the largest artificial lake in Lazio, and its dam exceeded 90 meters in height: at the time of construction it was the tallest in Italy. There the water didn't just cover fields and mills: it submerged four entire settlements. Borgo San Pietro, Teglieto and Fiumata in the territory of Petrella Salto, Sant'Ippolito in that of Fiamignano.

The inhabitants were moved to new towns built from scratch. The new Borgo San Pietro is still today one of the rare Lazio examples of rationalist architecture of the period applied to an entire settlement: one of those places that scholars visit and tourists pass through without noticing. The two valleys, Turano and Salto, were transformed at the same time, by the same enterprise, for the same purpose, and linked by a nine-kilometer tunnel dug under Monte Navegna. Whoever visits Lake Turano and ignores the Salto sees half of the work.

There is a detail that adds weight to the story: the construction of the Salto dam cost human lives, and on site there is a monument remembering those who fell at the construction site. They are the uncomfortable foundations of a landscape we now judge beautiful. On the shore of the Salto, next to the lake, is the fortress of Petrella Salto, which in 1598 was the setting of the story of Beatrice Cenci and the parricide that took her and her family to the scaffold in Rome the following year. Two valleys, one hydraulic system, a family tragedy that has fed four centuries of literature. Inland Lazio is like that: it seems empty and instead it is layered.

When to Go to Lake Turano

Spring

From mid-April to late May the woods reopen and the blooms in the reserve's clearings are at their peak. The water level, however, is often at the minimum of the annual cycle, so the shores look bare. It is the best season for walking and the worst for photographing the full lake. Pleasant temperatures, empty villages, restaurants open only on weekends.

Summer

From late June to late August Lake Turano is in its bathing dress: high water, kiosks running, rentals active, life on the shores. The flip side is the weekend crowding and the difficulty of parking in the villages. The heat is less oppressive than in Rome because of the elevation, but the south-facing slopes in the central hours are hard going. Prefer the early hours and the late afternoon.

Autumn

It is the best season, without hesitation. Between October 1 and November 10 the basin is still reasonably full, the beeches and Turkey oaks turn yellow and red, the raking light enhances the stone of the villages and the roads are free. The only precautions: days shorten quickly and many food services run only on weekends, so phone first.

Winter

From December to March Lake Turano is a silent and severe place. Snowfalls arrive regularly at the high elevations and sometimes come down to the shores. The villages empty out, the water is lead-colored, the panoramas are crystal clear. Whoever is looking for a solitary hike an hour and a half from Rome finds it here. Whoever is looking for services does not: checking openings and road conditions is mandatory, and chains in the car in the winter period are not optional.

The Right Photo to Take at Lake Turano (RI)

The photograph everyone is after is the Antuni promontory emerging from the water like an island, with the abandoned village on top and Castel di Tora in the background. You get it from the provincial road that runs high on the Paganico Sabino side, at one of the panoramic hairpin bends where the roadway widens just enough to stop the car safely. It is not an equipped viewpoint, it is a hairpin bend: pull over where possible, get out on the uphill side, don't leave the door open on the traffic lane.

The right light is that of the three hours before sunset, with the sun behind the photographer and the promontory lit from the side. In the morning the same framing is backlit and doesn't work. In autumn the color of the woods separates the rise from the water and the result improves further. If the sky is completely clear the result is flat: the best days are those with high, scattered clouds, which give depth to the mountainous backdrop.

The second framing, less traveled and more beautiful, is made from the water. From a canoe, about a hundred meters from the shore, you keep Antuni on the left and the front of Castel di Tora on the right, and you use the reflection of the still morning surface. You need to get up early, because after 10 the breeze ruffles everything. The third, for those with patience and legs, is from above: climbing the trails of the Navegna side, toward 600 to 700 meters of elevation above the lake, you command the whole serpentine shape of the basin.

A warning that concerns respect for the places more than technique. The village of Antuni is an intermittent restoration site and a fragile place: don't enter unsafe buildings for the photo, don't climb the walls, don't move the stones. Some people climb on propped-up structures for a framing: don't. No photograph is worth that risk, and none is worth the damage to a building someone is trying to save.

Lake Turano with Children

It works, provided you choose the base well. Colle di Tora is the village best suited to families because the lakefront is flat, the equipped areas can be reached without climbs and the pedal boat and canoe rentals are within stroller reach. Castel di Tora, with its stairways and sloping alleys, is splendid but demanding with small children and impracticable with a rigid stroller.

The walk to Antuni is within reach of a child from six years up: 20 minutes slightly uphill on dirt, with the final reward of the labyrinth and the view. Bring water, a hat and closed shoes. For swimming the recommendations already given apply: shallow water, direct adult supervision, no trust in the idea that a lake is by definition safer than the sea. The bottom drops off and the temperature falls quickly.

Eating and Sleeping Around Lake Turano

The cooking of the Turano valley is that of the Rieti Apennines: handmade pasta, legumes, pork and lamb, mushrooms and truffle in the right season, sheep's milk cheeses. The trattorias of the lakeside villages work seasonally and in the cold months often open only on weekends. A phone reservation the day before is the norm, not excess zeal.

For overnight stays the offer is made of small facilities: rooms for rent, holiday homes, a few farm stays on the slopes, and a certain number of second homes rented in the summer months. Those who want two full days should base themselves in Colle di Tora or Castel di Tora. Those who prefer a cooler, more secluded setting should look toward Ascrea and the passes of the reserve. Those traveling in a group will find more capacity in Rieti, 20 kilometers away, accepting the daily transfer.

An observation from a professional: in this valley the value for money is still good precisely because tourism is not industrialized. The flip side is that the offer is rigid and fills up early on long weekends. Whoever books three weeks ahead finds what they want. Whoever tries on Thursday for the Saturday of Ferragosto does not.

Some Important Events That Happened Here in History

The first event that marks this valley is a martyrdom. Hagiographic tradition places in ancient Tora, in 251 AD, the killing of Saint Anatolia, and the cult of the saint structured the religious geography of the territory for centuries, with the sanctuary that still bears her name near Castel di Tora. This is tradition, not documented chronicle: it should be told for what it is, the identity foundation of a community, without passing it off as a trial record.

The second appointment with history is medieval and documented. In 1035 the name Castrum Vetus de Ophiano appears for the first time, the settlement that would become Castel di Tora. In 1092 some families of Lombard tradition donate their possessions on the hill of Antuni to the abbey of Farfa: it is the act that hands over to written history the village everyone photographs empty today. Between the 11th and 14th century the entire valley reorganizes according to the model of incastellamento, with settlements leaving the valley floor and climbing onto the crags. Ascrea is born exactly that way, through the contraction of two older villages, Bulgaretta and Mirandella, and is attested for the first time in 1392.

The third event is 1864, when Castelvecchio becomes Castel di Tora and Collepiccolo becomes Colle di Tora. An administrative act that is also a cultural declaration, as already said.

The fourth is the biggest of all, and has a precise date: 1939, inauguration of the dam on the Turano near Posticciola, a work of the Società Terni, in the presence of Mussolini. In a few months the agricultural valley disappears under the water, the historic road network is interrupted, the relations among the towns are redrawn. The following year it was the Salto's turn, and in 1942 the Cotilia plant enters service, closing the system. Those who live here today descend from those who endured that change and then, in two generations, turned it into a resource.

The fifth is the war. In the final phase of the Second World War aerial bombing strikes the village of Antuni, already weakened by the isolation produced by the reservoir. In the 1950s the town is completely uninhabited: not a slow abandonment, but a collapse in little more than a decade. Recovery begins only in the 1990s, and in 2015 the inauguration of the labyrinth on the promontory marks the transformation of the site into a place for visits and events.

The sixth, finally, concerns protection. In 1988 the Monte Navegna and Monte Cervia Nature Reserve is born. The regional laws of 1997 and 1999 redefine its perimeter and layout, bringing the protected area to the current 3,563 hectares across nine municipalities. In less than 50 years the same valley was first sacrificed to industrial production and then protected as natural heritage. It is not a contradiction: it is the history of 20th-century inland Italy in a single valley floor.

Who Has Passed Through Lake Turano (RI)

The first name is that of the feudal lords. On the Antuni promontory some of the families that counted in the Papal States took turns: the Brancaleoni, the Cesarini, the Mattei, the Lante della Rovere. Around 1816 the fief passes to the Del Drago, a house of Viterbo origin, and in 1832 Pope Gregory XVI raises the possession to a principality. The palace that dominates the hill still bears their name. They were not provincial petty lords: the Del Drago frequented the papal court, and the promotion to principality tells of the weight they had in Rome.

The second famous passage is that, a cumbersome one, of the head of government. In 1939 Benito Mussolini personally inaugurated the Turano dam. Hydraulic inaugurations were one of the favorite genres of the period's propaganda, and the Turano valley had its newsreel day. The fact is documented and should be remembered, without nostalgia and without erasure: that lake exists because a precise industrial policy decided it should exist.

The third group of illustrious visitors arrives with movie cameras, and here Lake Turano has a filmography surprising for a place of 1,000 inhabitants. "Il cielo è vicino" was shot at Antuni in 1954, and 60 years later the promontory returned to the screen with "Darkside Witches" in 2015. At Colle di Tora "Il santo patrono" was shot in 1972, directed by Bitto Albertini, with Lucio Dalla in the lead: the Bolognese singer-songwriter, at the time still far from his consecration, spent weeks on these shores. In 2001 the village hosted the filming of the second season of the Rai drama series "Non lasciamoci più", with Fabrizio Frizzi and Debora Caprioglio. In 2009 cinema returned with "Questione di cuore" by Francesca Archibugi, starring Kim Rossi Stuart, Micaela Ramazzotti, Paolo Villaggio and Antonio Albanese.

It's worth pausing a moment on this last title. Archibugi is a director who chooses places for what they say, not for photographic effect, and the fact that she brought a Roman story of illness and friendship to these shores says something about the Turano: it is a lake that works as an emotional reverse shot of Rome, close enough to be reached in an afternoon and far enough to seem like another world. Whoever arrives from Rome feels it immediately, even without having seen the film.

The fourth and last group is that of the nameless travelers: Roman fishermen who have been coming up here for three generations, hikers from Rieti, cyclists, and since 2017 the paragliding pilots who have added a point of view nobody had before. Lake Turano has not had the Grand Tour, has not had the English painters, has not had Goethe. It has had a century of people who came on Sundays, and in the long run that is what gave it character.

What to See Around Lake Turano

The half-hour driving radius around the basin holds more than the road map lets you guess. Lake Salto is the natural destination for the second day: bigger, more open, with the fortress of Petrella Salto tied to the story of Beatrice Cenci and the rebuilt towns of the rationalist period. The castle of Rocca Sinibalda, on the road toward Rieti, is a 16th-century architectural machine with an extraordinary plan, and the former abbey of San Salvatore Maggiore, in the territory of Concerviano, preserves the layout of one of the most powerful monasteries of medieval Sabina.

To the north opens the Rieti world. Rieti, with its medieval quarter, Roman underground passages and papal palace, is the natural county seat of this territory and is 40 minutes away. From there you can easily reach the circuit of Franciscan sanctuaries of the Holy Valley: the Fonte Colombo sanctuary, where Francis dictated the Rule, and the other places linked to his Rieti stays, among them those above Poggio Bustone and Cantalice. On the plain below the county seat the Lungo and Ripasottile Lakes Reserve preserves the remains of the ancient Lacus Velinus, with water birdlife that fits very well into a day at the Turano.

Farther east you climb toward Terminillo and toward Antrodoco, with the Velino gorges and the church of Santa Maria extra moenia. To the southwest, going down toward the Tiber side of Sabina, you meet stone villages like Casperia and the olive oil hills. Whoever prefers to stay on the theme of lakes and wants an instructive comparison should make a trip, on another occasion, to Lake Bracciano: a natural volcanic lake, huge and very ancient, the exact opposite of the Turano in origin and character. The English-language guides to these destinations, for those traveling with foreign guests, are gathered in the ItalyPlanner Lazio guide.

Useful Information and Contacts for Lake Turano

Comune di Castel di Tora: Via Don Sabino Gentili 11, 02020 Castel di Tora (RI), phone 0765 716313. Comune di Colle di Tora: Via Colle della Madonna 1, 02020 Colle di Tora (RI), phone 0765 716139. Comune di Ascrea: Piazza Mareri 1, 02020 Ascrea (RI), phone 0765 723112. Comune di Paganico Sabino: the contact is published on the institution's website. Monte Navegna and Monte Cervia Regional Nature Reserve: seat in Varco Sabino, with the surveillance service and the technical office that provide information on trails and permits.

Before setting out it's worth checking three things on the institutional channels: any municipal ordinances on swimming and on summer traffic, the condition of the reserve's trails after periods of heavy rain, and the openings of the Antuni promontory, which depend on the events calendar. For mountain hikes in a protected area, a licensed guide is a sensible investment: finding your way among the reserve's secondary tracks is not trivial, and phone coverage in some gullies is intermittent. Those organizing experiences for groups or companies in this part of Lazio can turn to the professionals of TourLeaderPro. Those preparing an itinerary for English-speaking guests will find the pages on Italian nature and mountains in the Mountains and nature section of ItalyPlanner.

Quick Questions About Lake Turano (RI)

How Much Does It Cost to Visit Lake Turano?

Nothing. The lake and the villages that overlook it are freely accessible and there is no entrance ticket. You only pay for services: paid parking in high season in some villages, rental of canoes, pedal boats and loungers in the equipped areas, what you consume at the kiosks. A frugal day for two people, lunch included, stays well under 60 euros.

Where Exactly Is Lake Turano?

In the province of Rieti, in Lazio, along the course of the Turano river, among the municipalities of Castel di Tora, Colle di Tora, Ascrea and Paganico Sabino. The reservoir's surface is at an elevation of 536 meters above sea level.

How Far Is Lake Turano from Rome?

About 90 kilometers via the A24 and Carsoli, with a travel time of a good hour and a half in normal conditions. Via the Salaria and Rieti the route is about 20 minutes longer but more scenic in the last stretch.

How Do You Get to Lake Turano Without a Car?

You reach Rieti by bus from Rome or by train via Terni, and from there you continue with intercity bus lines to the municipalities of the Turano valley. The runs are few and calibrated to school hours: without a car it's best to stay at least one night.

Can You Swim in Lake Turano?

In summer yes, in the equipped areas of the shores. Since it is an artificial reservoir, the zones where swimming is permitted and any limits depend on the ordinances of the lakeside municipalities: checking beforehand with the relevant municipality is the most sensible thing.

Is the Water of Lake Turano Cold?

Below the first few meters yes, even in midsummer, because the basin is deep and fed by mountain waters. At the surface, in the sunny inlets of July and August, the temperature is pleasant. Whoever swims far from shore notices right away.

Why Does the Level of Lake Turano Change So Much?

Because it is a regulation reservoir for hydroelectric use. The water is stored and released according to production needs, so the surface rises and falls by several meters over the year. The minimum is typically recorded in the final part of winter and in spring.

When Was Lake Turano Built?

The dam near Posticciola was built by the Società Terni and inaugurated in 1939, with the aim of producing hydroelectric power and reducing the floods that inundated the Rieti plain. The maximum regulation level of the reservoir is 540 meters above sea level.

Is Lake Turano Connected to Lake Salto?

Yes, by an artificial channel about nine kilometers long and two and a half meters in diameter, dug under the Monte Navegna massif. The two basins work as a single reservoir and together feed the Cotilia hydroelectric plant, in Cittaducale, in operation since 1942.

How Big Is Lake Turano?

It is a little under 10 kilometers long along the axis of the submerged valley and has a shoreline of about 36 kilometers, counting the inlets of the side ditches.

What Are the Villages on Lake Turano?

The four lakeside municipalities are Castel di Tora, Colle di Tora, Ascrea and Paganico Sabino. A little above the valley is Collalto Sabino, which falls within the same nature reserve. Castel di Tora and Collalto Sabino are part of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy circuit.

What Is the Ghost Village of Lake Turano?

It is Antuni, an uninhabited hamlet of Castel di Tora, on a promontory at about 696 meters of elevation. Born in the 11th century and mentioned from 1092, it was isolated by the formation of the lake in 1939, hit by the bombings of the Second World War and completely abandoned in the 1950s.

Can You Visit Antuni?

The promontory can be reached on foot with about 20 minutes of walking from the parking lot on the provincial road. Access to the interiors of Palazzo Del Drago and the openings of the labyrinth depend on the events calendar and the state of the restorations: it's best to phone the Comune of Castel di Tora.

Can You Drive Around Lake Turano?

Yes, the perimeter road closes the loop. It is about 35 kilometers on a single, narrow carriageway, with blind hairpin bends. Without stops 50 minutes is enough, but on summer weekends the time doubles. Very long vehicles must assess the bends on the Ascrea side.

Is Cycling Around Lake Turano Hard?

It is not flat: the loop involves a total elevation gain of around 700 meters spread over continuous ups and downs. It is suited to trained cyclists. In summer it should be tackled early in the morning, because the south-facing slope becomes scorching in the central hours.

Can You Fish in Lake Turano?

Yes, and it is one of the most popular activities. A valid license and respect for the regional fishing calendar are required. In the portions within the nature reserve additional rules may apply, to be checked with the managing body.

Can You Use Canoes and Kayaks on Lake Turano?

Yes, and it is the best way to see the lake. There are rentals on the lakefront at Colle di Tora and in the equipped areas. Better to paddle in the morning, when the surface is still: from early afternoon the valley breeze picks up and the return becomes tiring.

Are Motorboats Allowed on Lake Turano?

Motor navigation on a reservoir of this type is subject to limits set locally. Anyone planning to put a motorized craft in the water should check the rules in force with the lakeside municipality and with the nature reserve's managing body.

Is Lake Turano Suitable for Children?

Yes, choosing Colle di Tora as a base: the lakefront is flat and services are close. Castel di Tora, with stairways and steep alleys, is more demanding with the very little ones. In the water direct supervision is needed, because the bottom drops off and the temperature falls fast.

Can You Go to Lake Turano with a Dog?

Yes, keeping it on a leash, both on the reserve's trails and in the villages. In private equipped areas admission depends on the operator. On trails in a zone where wolves are present the leash is a safety measure, not a formality.

What Is the Best Time to Visit Lake Turano?

From late June to late August for swimming and services. The first half of October for the color of the woods, the water still high and the absence of lines. Spring is excellent for walking but often coincides with the reservoir's minimum level.

How Much Time Do You Need to Visit Lake Turano?

A full day for the loop with stops in the villages and the walk to Antuni. Two days if you want to add a high-altitude hike, like the climb to Monte Navegna, or a trip to Lake Salto.

What Is the Monte Navegna and Monte Cervia Reserve?

It is the regional protected natural area that safeguards the northeastern side of Lake Turano and the surrounding heights. Established in 1988 and redefined by the regional laws of 1997 and 1999, it extends over about 3,563 hectares in nine municipalities of the province of Rieti.

What Animals Can You See Around Lake Turano?

In the reserve there are the Apennine wolf, the pine marten, the badger, the wild boar and the roe deer. Among the birds, the golden eagle, the peregrine falcon and several woodpeckers. 14 species of bats have been recorded, some among the most threatened in Europe.

Are There Marked Trails at Lake Turano?

Yes, the reserve manages a network that links the shores to the villages and the peaks. Maintenance of secondary tracks varies from season to season: it's best to get the managing body's updated map before setting out.

Can You See St. Peter's from Lake Turano?

That is what is told around here for north wind days, from the heights above the lake. Whoever tries should bring binoculars and a lot of patience: useful visibility happens a few times a year and is guaranteed by nothing.

Where Do You Take the Best Photo of Lake Turano?

From the panoramic hairpin bends of the provincial road above Paganico Sabino, in the late afternoon, with Antuni in the foreground and Castel di Tora in the background. From the water, in a canoe early in the morning, the framing is less traveled and often better.

Is Lake Turano Artificial or Natural?

Artificial. Before 1939 the valley was an agricultural valley floor crossed by the Turano river, with mills, fields and a road linking the towns. The lake landscape admired today is less than a century old.

What Is the Difference Between Lake Turano and Lake Salto?

They are twins but not identical. The Salto, formed in 1940, is the largest artificial reservoir in Lazio and its construction submerged four entire towns, later rebuilt elsewhere. The Turano is smaller, more enclosed between the slopes, and has kept the historic villages on its shores.

Are There Events at Lake Turano?

The summer season brings food festivals and events in the lakeside villages, and the Antuni promontory hosts cultural events when construction work allows. The calendars are published by the municipalities and the institutional channels: it's worth checking them in the days before your visit.

Where Do You Eat at Lake Turano?

In the trattorias of the lakeside villages and the farm stays on the slopes, with the cooking of the Rieti Apennines: handmade pasta, legumes, meats, mushrooms and truffle in season, pecorino cheeses. Outside summer many places open only on weekends, so book by phone.

Is Lake Turano Worth the Trip?

It is worth the trip, on two conditions. The first is arriving with the right mindset: this is not a lake of the motionless postcard, it is an industrial basin that works, changes level, uncovers and covers its shores again, and its beauty comes from a brutal human intervention of 1939. Whoever accepts this finds a landscape with a depth that perfect lakes don't have. The second condition is giving it time. The drive around takes less than an hour and whoever limits themselves to that goes away convinced they have understood. In reality they have seen nothing. The Turano gives itself to those who walk up to Antuni in the late afternoon, to those who paddle at dawn under the promontory, to those who sit in a piazza in Castel di Tora and listen to the silence of a town of 270 inhabitants.

If I really have to name one thing that is overrated here, I'll say it: swimming. Swimming in the Turano works, but it is not the reason this lake deserves to be reached, and whoever comes only for that would be happier elsewhere. The real reason is the villages, the empty village on the promontory, the woods of the Navegna and the hydraulic history that holds it all together. Bring walking shoes, binoculars and no hurry.

Article written by the editorial team of TourLeaderPro, contact them for Private/Corporate/V.I.P. Tours and Experiences.

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