Lago di Aviasco, Italian mountain lake

Lago di Aviasco is an artificial reservoir of 70,500 square metres in the Orobie Alps, high in the Seriana Valley in the province of Bergamo. It lies in a basin formed by Monte Cabianca and Monte Pradella, and its dam is recognisable by its stone facing. Other reservoirs, including Lago Nero, Lago Campelli, Lago Sucotto and Lago Cernello, lie in the same valley.

The lake is artificial: its basin was created by damming the upper Valle Seriana below the Cabianca and Pradella mountains, and the retaining dam is faced with stone, which makes it recognisable on the approach. The reservoir belongs to a chain of artificial basins in the same valley, together with lakes Nero, Campelli, Sucotto and Cernello, fed by streams and snowmelt from the surrounding slopes.

To reach the lake, start from Valgoglio and follow a provincial road up the valley, then turn onto a smaller mountain road leading to a parking spot near a mountain shelter. From there, a three-hour trek passes through forests, crosses small wooden bridges over streams, and involves increasingly steep sections with metal railings in challenging areas.

Large water pipes cross the hiking trail to channel water from higher lakes down to the hydroelectric station, making the infrastructure for power generation visibly part of the landscape. This blending of industrial elements with mountain scenery offers insight into how energy production shapes the region.