Sauris Dam, Arch dam in Udine Province, Italy.
Sauris Dam is an arch dam in Udine Province, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, built across the Lumiei river valley to hold back a large mountain reservoir at around 1,200 meters elevation. The curved concrete wall closes off the valley and channels water toward the surrounding area.
Work on the dam began in 1941 and was completed in 1948, spanning the years of World War II when local labor was in short supply. To fill the gap, nearly 300 New Zealand prisoners of war were brought to work on the construction site.
The flooded valley once held the hamlet of La Maina, whose former residents had to leave their homes before the water rose. Local memory of that lost place remains strong, and people in the area still talk about what lies beneath the surface.
The dam is reached by forest roads that wind through the surrounding hills, so a vehicle with decent ground clearance is useful. Clear mornings offer the best view of the reservoir and valley before clouds gather around the peaks.
In 1992 the reservoir was fully drained for maintenance work, exposing the original valley floor for the first time in decades. The remains of submerged buildings and paths became visible, giving local people a rare chance to walk through what had long been underwater.
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