Contest #544: Cascata delle Marmore, Umbria, Italy
After he decided in 271 BCE that the local wetlands were causing Malaria, Roman consul Manius Curius Dentatus ordered the construction of a canal to divert the Velino river to the cliffs at Marmore, where the water would fall into the Nera river bed, thus bypassing the marsh completely.
Best laid plans and all, the reconfigured river system had it’s own flooding problems, and over the course of the centuries, various Popes stepped in and ordered modifications. Then, after the industrial revolution, private businesses jumped into the fray.
Today, the falls are a scheduled tourist attraction. The water to the falls is diverted through a hydroelectric plant, reducing the falls to a trickle. For a few, published hours each day, the water is sent back over the falls to the delight of visitors from all over the world.
Those who splashed around included:
- Phil Ower
- hhgygy
- Eloy Cano
- Lighthouse
- Walter_V_R
- Garfield
- Farceur
- Chris Nason
And after the hint:
- Sandworm
- rob de wolff