Lake Brasimone

At the beginning of the 20th century, the construction of the reservoir was taken into consideration by the growing demand for electricity for domestic and industrial uses by the city of Bologna.

In 1910, the Società Bolognese di Elettricità (SBE), on behalf of the Società Strade Ferrate Meridionali of Florence, started work on the construction of the dam near the Scalere mill, where the Brasimone valley narrowed and the stream formed a suggestive series of jumps, while at the same time the hydroelectric power station of Santa Maria was built further downstream, near the ancient church of the same name.

In 1917 a further barrier on the Brasimone will be placed downstream of Castiglione dei Pepoli by the construction of the Santa Maria dam, 23 meters high and built by the Arturo Pagani company to serve the Le Piane hydroelectric power station.

In the 70s, the waters of the Brasimone were brought into contact with the underlying Lake Suviana, through the construction of two imposing pipelines and the pumping system of the Bargi hydroelectric power station.

The gorges that the Brasimone torrent has carved, for a long stretch, at the foot of the western slope of Monte Gatta, are a peculiar erosive morphology deepened in the turbidite sandstones of the Castiglione dei Pepoli Formation.