Lago del Brasimone, Artificial lake in Camugnano, Italy

Lago del Brasimone is an artificial lake in the Bolognese Apennines at roughly 845 meters (2770 feet) elevation, fed by the Torto stream and mountain runoff from the surrounding region. Walking trails circle the shoreline, and the water supports fishing and year-round bird watching.

Construction began in 1910 under engineer Fausto Baratta, who employed over 1200 workers to build the dam in roughly 15 months. This early engineering feat made it a major hydropower project in the mountain region.

On the southeastern shore stands ENEA's Brasimone research centre, founded in the 1970s for an Italian-French project on sodium-cooled fast reactors. Work on the PEC experimental reactor began in 1972, then stopped after Chernobyl and the 1987 referendums, and the site was converted to other research.

The lake is easy to reach with multiple trails circling the shore at varying difficulty levels. Visitors should bring sturdy footwear and weather-resistant clothing, as the mountain setting can be cool and windy.

The dam was built with local stone cut by the stonecutters of Montovolo, chosen over reinforced concrete. It is a gravity dam 35 metres high, with a 158-metre crest at 846 metres above sea level, designed by engineer Angelo Omodeo at the start of his career.