Cascata delle Marmore

The Marmore Falls carry the Velino into the Nera through a dramatic cascade with a total drop of about 165 metres. Their appearance combines a natural river landscape with more than two millennia of hydraulic engineering.

Why it matters

The cascade originated in works undertaken in 271 BC to drain water from the Rieti basin. Successive interventions altered the channel and its outflow, making the falls part of a long history of managing water between neighbouring territories.

What to notice

The descending water cuts across a landscape of travertine, caves and dense vegetation. Its scale and changing viewpoints made the falls a celebrated subject for artists and travellers during the Grand Tour.

Context and history

Major alterations involved Antonio da Sangallo the Younger in the sixteenth century, the Fontana works around 1600 and Andrea Vici in the late eighteenth century. Later industrial development incorporated the waters into the Nera–Velino hydroelectric system.