Lago di Ceresole, Artificial lake in Ceresole Reale, Piedmont, Italy

Lago di Ceresole is an artificial reservoir in the Orco valley, in the comune of Ceresole Reale, at 1582 m elevation. It is over 3 km long and about 700 m wide, held back by a 52-metre-high gravity dam with a 302-metre crest. The lake can store up to about 35 million cubic metres of water.

Construction of the Ceresole Reale dam began on 22 July 1925 and it was inaugurated on 2 August 1931, in a ceremony attended by Prince Umberto of Savoy. The reservoir flooded dozens of scattered houses in the basin now occupied by the lake. A plaque commemorates the twenty-four workers who died during the dam's construction.

The lake is named after Ceresole Reale, the comune that contains it in the Orco valley. Its water is channelled to the Rosone hydroelectric plant, which produces 70 million kWh a year, and the dam is one of six in the Orco basin, with Agnel, Serrù, Teleccio, Valsoera and Eugio. A plaque at the dam commemorates the twenty-four workers who died during its construction.

A circular walk of about 7.5 km runs around the lake and becomes a cross-country ski trail in winter. The lake is emptied roughly every ten years for dam inspections, most recently between February and March 2026, so the water level can be low. Otherwise the level depends on rain, snowmelt and hydroelectric production.

The dam is a massive gravity structure 52 metres high with a 302-metre crest, holding back 34 million cubic metres of water. A plaque at the site commemorates the twenty-four workers who died during its construction. The lake is emptied roughly every ten years for structural checks; the most recent drawdown ran between February and March 2026.