Lake Resia and the bell tower
The bell tower emerging from the water
In the upper Val Venosta, near the Passo di Resia, on the border with Austria and Switzerland, at about 1,500 metres, a strange and poignant image appears in the middle of a large lake: a Romanesque bell tower emerging from the water, the only trace of a village that no longer exists. Lake Resia (Reschensee) is an artificial lake created in 1950 by the construction of a dam for the production of hydroelectric power, which joined two natural lakes and raised the water level by about 22 metres, submerging the old village of Curon (Graun) and part of Resia.
The project, decided under fascism and completed after the war, forced about a thousand inhabitants to leave their homes and fields; over a hundred houses were demolished, and many families emigrated. Only the fourteenth century bell tower of the church of Santa Caterina was spared, as a monument, and today it rises from the water, a symbol of the valley and of the memory of the lost village. A new village of Curon was built higher up on the shore. In winter, when the lake freezes, you can walk on the ice to the foot of the bell tower, and the lake becomes a playground for skaters and kitesurfers. In summer, a cycle path runs around the lake, and boats take visitors on the water. The story of the submerged village inspired the novel "Resto qui" by Marco Balzano and the Netflix series "Curon". According to legend, on winter nights you can still hear the bells ringing under the water, although the bells were removed in 1950.
Tip: the lake is part of the Via Claudia Augusta cycle route; in winter, check that the ice is declared safe before walking on it.
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