The world's tallest man-made waterfall

Italy The 165 m high Marmore Falls were created when the ancient Romans diverted the Velino River 2,200 years ago.

Marmore Falls in Italy. Photo: MilaCroft — Marmore Falls in Italy. Photo: *MilaCroft*

The stunning three-tiered waterfall known as Marmore Falls is located about 8 km east of Terni in the Umbria region of Italy. This waterfall was once one of the destinations that wealthy young Englishmen in the 17th and 18th centuries often chose when they traveled to England and Italy to learn about the origins of Western civilization. The curiosity of Marmore Falls lies not only in its magnificence but also in the fact that it is the result of human intervention in nature, according to Amusing Planet .

2,200 years ago, there were no waterfalls in the area. The Velino River, where the waterfall is located, had a completely different course, flowing into a swamp on the Reiti plain. The stagnant water in the swamp was thought to be unhealthy and was believed to be the cause of various diseases that afflicted the population, so the Roman governor Manius Curius Dentatus ordered the construction of a canal called the Curiano Canal in 271 BC to drain the swamp and channel it over the natural cliffs of Marmore, creating the waterfall. From there, the water flowed down to the Nera River below.

However, the solution did not work as intended. The Reiti Valley continued to flood. As the Velino River rose, it also flooded the Terni Valley, where the river changed course. The artificial canal and subsequent flooding became a source of long-standing dispute between the residents of Terni and the Reiti Valley. The Terni wanted to close the canal, while the Reiti Valley residents wanted to increase the flow of the falls to accommodate the excess water. The issue between the two cities was so tense that the Roman Senate was forced to resolve it in 54 BC, but could not reach a consensus or resolve it for centuries.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, invasions and the rise of feudalism left much of the territory and countryside abandoned. Due to lack of maintenance, the bottom of the Curiano Canal became silted up and the Reiti Valley flooded again. It was not until the 15th century that Pope Gregory XII ordered the construction of a new canal to restore the original flow. Improvements were made by Pope Paul III in the mid-16th century, installing a regulator to control the flow. The final adjustments that gave the waterfall its present appearance were made by the architect Andrea Vici under the direction of Pope Pius V1 in the late 18th century.

Andrea Vici could have solved much of the flooding problem, leaving the waterfall intact for the past 200 years. However, a hydroelectric plant on the Velino River now blocks or reduces the flow of the falls depending on the time of the plant's water release. Water is released twice a day, at 12-1pm and 4-5pm. Marmore Falls has a total height of 165m, making it the tallest man-made waterfall in the world . Of the three levels, the top level is the tallest at 83m.

An Khang (According to Amusing Planet )

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