Ticino – The Verzasca reservoir was emptied as early as 1994

As a news scout told 20 Minuten, the Verzasca reservoir was emptied back in 1994. “We were hiking in the Verzasca Valley when we found the empty reservoir.” However, the news scout could not say exactly why that was. “I assume that they also carried out construction work on the dam.”

But from the beginning. The people of Vogorno used to grow wine on the slopes. But in 1960 the construction of the dam began, in 1965 one of the highest dams in Europe was completed and the wine terraces disappeared. Years later they reappear. “The people from the village used to grow Uva Americana grapes down here. The Vogorneser were also the only ones in the valley who voted against the construction of the dam, but it was of no use ”, says Ivo Bordoli, mayor of Vogorno.

But not only the vineyards of Vogorno come to light. The smaller version of the famous Roman bridge “Ponte dei Salti” can now also be admired. The structure is still in good condition, as if the water that buried the bridge for years could not harm the rock.

When the construction of the dam began, Bordoli was six years old, as “FM1-Today” writes. “At that time the valley was still wild and deeply cut,” says the first mayor of the villages in the valley, which have come together to form the municipality of Verzasca. Now the reservoir has been emptied for the first time in 56 years. Verzasca SA technicians have to do some repairs and improvements. Among other things, the shaft under the reservoir needs new corrosion protection, as the director Andrea Papina says.

The Verzasca dam became world famous through the Bond film “Golden Eye” in 1995. The then Bond actor Pierce Brosnan jumped down the dam on a bungy rope. Even today, the brave can still imitate the jump from 007. You can bungee jump there from Easter to the end of October.