Water Landscapes: Sources of Clitunno, Spoleto and the Marmore Waterfall

The Clitunno river’s springs have created a lake with very clear and emerald green waters. This water garden inspired poets such as Propertius, Pliny, Virgilio, Byron and Carducci. Groundwater comes to the suface as several water springs, a few of which can be found on the lakebed. The water mirrors intense and changing colours, is rich in rare vegetal species (phanerogams, horsetail, moss, aquatic nasturtium…) that create a luxuriant appearance of rare beauty. Its shores are surrounded by a thick vegetation, particularly weeping willows and poplars. Their rare beauty has inspired painters, poets and writers since ancient times.

Located in southeastern Umbria, Spoleto is one of the region's most fascinating art towns. Its wealth of history, varied cultural heritage and important arts events make it one of the tourist destinations most highly esteemed by visitors. HISTORY An important fortified Umbrian settlement, Spoleto became a Roman colony and later a municipium (90 BC). After the fall of the Roman empire, it was taken over first by Theodoric, king of the Visigoths, and then by the Byzantine Belisarius. Seized by Totila, it was rebuilt by the Byzantine general Narses. In the early Middle Ages, it became the capital of the Lombard Duchy of Spoleto. In 1155 Spoleto was conquered and destroyed by Frederick Barbarossa, and after a series of conflicts between the Guelfs and the Ghibellines it was conquered again by Cardinal Albornoz, who secured it for the papacy and made it an important town in the Papal States. Apart from the brief period under Napoleon, the papal rule continued unbroken until Spoleto joined the new Italian State. ART, CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT The historic center has maintained its medieval appearance, although traces of its Roman heritage are still visible.