Lake of Scanno is located in Abruzzo.
To know
Geographical notes
The lake, located at an average altitude of 922 meters a.s.l. and surrounded by some peaks of the Marsicani Mountains such as the Montagna Grande and Monte Genzana, it has very reduced coasts and for some very short stretches they have been adapted for the reception of bathers, forming artificial beaches of stones. It is located halfway between Villalago is Scanno, and is the largest natural lake in the region. From some views it appears in the shape of a heart, such as from the viewpoint of Frattura Nuova, not far from the huge landslide of Mount Rava that generated the lake by blocking the Sagittario valley.
Flora and fauna
The hygrophilous vegetation of the lake is lacking in species. There are no floristic entities of great naturalistic importance and the plant landscape is very poor along the entire coastal stretch, also due to the steep uniformity of the banks and the absence of a stable emissary, in fact in the areas closest to the lake there is no they are neither swamps nor peat bogs.
The dominant plant association is Phragmitetum communis, where the most common aquatic species of the lake, the common reed (Phragmites australis), absolutely dominates; among the vessels, where the waters are more oxygenated by small tributaries, sporadic associations of brasche (Potamogeton natans) and gamberaie (Callitriche stagnalis) vegetate. The prevalent tree species are willows (Salix alba, Salix eleagnos) and poplars (Populus alba, Populus nigra, Populus tremula) and the lime tree (Tilia platyphyllos) at the mouth of the Yew (Tilia platyphyllos) [9]. The intense exploitation of the surrounding land prevented the formation of hygrophilous woods, since the properties were mainly occupied by pastures or orchards of apples (Malus domestica, Pyrus communis) and plums (Prunus avium or cherry, Prunus cerasus or vìsciolo and Prunus domestica or plum tree [10]).
Among the mammals you can admire Apennine wolves, Marsican bears and red foxes.The avian fauna is mainly composed of mallards and other wild ducks, European coots, peregrine falcons, marsh harriers, tawny owls, owls, goshawks, eagles, in addition to numerous other species, especially passerines, the fish fauna is mainly composed of king perch, trout, whitefish, catfish and pike. The presence of eels and the rare tiger turtle (Emys orbicularis) should be noted.
Background
Some local legends explain the birth of the lake as a supernatural phenomenon that occurred to defend the small local communities from external attacks from the valley. The external threat is generally represented now by the "emperor of Rome" attacking the indigenous regent, now by Orlando, by the crusaders or by the French paladins who besiege a tower in which a virgin is hidden, now by the fearsome magician Baialardo who challenges a Madama Angiolina who among the mountains ofAbruzzo found exile.
The mystery of the mad compass
In 2012, there was the strange phenomenon of the crazy compasses of divers who no longer find the north once immersed in the waters of the lake. Also in the same year, anomalous waves occurred on the lake. These strange phenomena have attracted scholars from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Rome who found, using magnetometers and GPS, magnetic fields mostly in the northern area of the lake bottom, in the territory of Villalago.
Territories and tourist destinations
Urban centers
How to get
How to get around
What see
- 1 [link not working]Church of the Madonna del Lago (Sanctuary of the Annunziata). It is located in the municipal area of Scanno at the southwestern shore of the lake.
- The church is accessed from the Samnite state road 479, which passes under the church, 2 flights of stairs branch off from the 2 entrances of the small gallery under the church, giving access to it.
- The building has been extended and renovated several times; the Lords who ran the University of Scanno made a request on 10 September 1697 to Monsignor G. Carducci for permission to build a church where there was an image of the Madonna, who, according to local folklore, performed miracles. It was consecrated in 1702 in honor of the Annunciation.
- In ancient times the entrance was placed on the eastern facade preceded by a five-arched portico. In 1870-71, when the carriage road had to be built, the portico was demolished and the entrance moved to the facade facing the lake; during the works the two access ramps to the church were built.
- The statue of the Madonna is a copy made after the theft of the original.
- The church has a square plan with rounded corners and is covered by a dome; next to it there is a room formerly used as a hermitage.
- The interior is in its current form after various restorations: in 1903 the altar was replaced with a new one in Venetian neo-Gothic style. Then it was decided to standardize the style throughout the interior.
- The east wall has no wall as it rests on the rough and unworked rock. On the corners of the church, at the top, there are trompe l'œil drawings to look like statues of biblical prophets. On the north and south walls there are 2 oil paintings relating biblical facts. The paintings inside are from 1911 and the wooden doors were made by carvers from Capestrano.
- The small churchyard is a belvedere on the lake.
- 2 Hermitage of San Domenico. It overlooks the homonymous Lake of San Domenico and includes a cave carved into the limestone rock, in which, according to tradition, the Benedictine monk San Domenico lived around the year 1000. To the church, located in the municipal area of Villalago, is accessed through a portico with four large paintings of 1938 by the Villalago painter Alfredo Gentile, depicting scenes from the life of the saint and focused on the narration of some miracles. In 2012 they were restored and made readable again.
- Access to the church is through a grotesque portal, dating back to the early century. XVII, restored in 2012.
- The building has a single nave. Note the large neo-Gothic altar (late 19th-early 20th century), in the niche a wooden statue of Saint Dominic praying abbot (late 18th-early 19th century) and at the base the frontal in marble stucco from 1761 , the latter made by Giuseppe Mancini commissioned by Francesco Iafolla hermit of Villalago.
- On the right side of the nave, inside a niche made in the bearing wall, there is a Madonna and Child (early 19th century), a very poorly painted painting, on which you can read the writing in pencil and graffiti left by visitors and by the faithful at least during the nineteenth century.
- In the church there are other works by the painter Alfredo Gentile: San Domenico Abate saving a possessed (1969), oil on canvas, on the right side; St. Anthony of Padua with Child (1969), oil on canvas, on the left side; Madonna with Child (undated, prob. 1969), fresco on the vault; St. Francis speaking to the wolf (1969), fresco on the vault.
- In front of the hermitage there is the lake of San Domenico (the particular view from the mullioned window of the loggia in front of the church). In the parish church of S. Maria di Loreto in Villalago is preserved what remains of one of the tree trunks which according to tradition constituted the bed on which Saint Dominic the Abbot slept in the cave.
- It is the destination, every August 21, of a pilgrimage strictly on foot by the faithful of Stoves, in the province of Isernia. Tradition has it that the residential settlement of Fornelli was made up of original populations from the diocese of Sulmona-It is valid that they brought the cult of St. Dominic, who became, together with St. Peter from Verona, co-patron of the parish. The pilgrims, over a hundred and sometimes even 300, leave at 22.00 every August 19 from the chapel of the Madonna delle Grazie in Fornelli and then receive the greeting of the parish priest in the church of San Pietro Martire. The path up to Villalago, over 80 km of sheep tracks, paths and, today, also asphalted roads, touches the Molise and Abruzzo municipalities of Cerro al Volturno, Pizzone, Alfedena, Barrea, Villetta Barrea, Scanno is Villalago.
- 3 Hermitage of Sant'Egidio. Hermitage of Sant'Egidio. Located on the hill of the same name, between Scanno and the lake, it was built in the early seventeenth century in rural Romanesque style. It is mentioned as a hermitage in a document relating to the pastoral visit of 1612. Sant'Egidio was venerated as a protector against the plague, in particular that of 1656; since then every year a solemn procession has been celebrated to the hermitage.
- The main facade is made of exposed square stone. The entrance is preceded by a porch with a lowered barrel vault, surmounted by an oculus window framed by a molded stone. In the single lancet window at the top right there was most likely a bell.
- The quadrangular-shaped interior with a single nave, covered by a barrel vault with a lowered arch, has a simple altar leaning against the wall of the apse. Above the altar a fresco of Sant'Egidio made by masters of the Neapolitan school in 1796.
- The church was restored in 1780. edit
- 4 Ruins of Fracture. On 13 January 1915 the Marsica earthquake caused extensive destruction in the hamlet of Frattura Vecchia. The reasons for this are attributable to the effects of the site: the old town was located near the detachment niche of the Pleistocene landslide that caused the damming of the River Tasso and the formation of the lake of Scanno. In fact, during an earthquake, the presence of loose material, such as that resulting from a landslide, leads to amplify the seismic wave, causing greater damage to buildings than those placed on rocky ground. In fact, the neighboring countries, according to what is reported by the INGV macroseismic catalogs, suffered minor damage.
- At the time of the earthquake the residents were about 350 people, as many as 120 were the victims (almost the entire population) mostly women and children, as the men were emigrants in Puglia and in United States of America. The ruins of the original nucleus remain of the ancient inhabited area. However, some houses have been renovated, the village is reached by water and electricity supplies and a tourist use is planned.
- The center was rebuilt between 1932 and 1936 on another spur of Mount Rava, but slightly closer to the municipal capital. The present country has fewer than 50 inhabitants.
What to do
Shopping
Where to eat
- 1 On the lake, Via Circumlacuale (Scanno), ☎ 39 0864 747296.
- 2 Bar Trattoria Pizzeria Da Vittorio, Viale del Lago, 1 (Scanno), ☎ 39 0864 747673.
Where stay
- 1 [link previously not working]Hotel del Lago, Viale del Lago, 202 (Scanno), ☎ 39 0864 74343.
- 2 Acquevive, Via Circumlacuale (Scanno), ☎ 39 0864 74388.
- 3 [link previously not working]Campsite I Lupi, Riviera location (Villalago), ☎ 39 0864 740625.
- 4 B&B Bellavista, Avenue of the Lake (Scanno), ☎ 39 329 7040234.
- 5 B&B La Maga del Lago, via Circumlacuale (Villalago), ☎ 39 338 7857625.
Safety
- 1 Mancinelli Pharmacy, Via Abrami, 13 (Scanno), ☎ 39 0864 74348.
- 2 Allegrini Pharmacy, Celestino Lupi Square (in Villalago), ☎ 39 0864 740363.
How to keep in touch
Telephony
The territory is covered by mobile phone services.
Around
Other projects
Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Lake of Scanno
Commons contains images or other files on Lake of Scanno
