Lake Vigi is located just north of Sellano, in the Umbrian Valnerina: a turquoise basin squeezed between wooded slopes, with the cold water of the river entering from the bottom and drawing clear waves on the surface. An almost flat path starts from the shore which in about half an hour leads to the Rote waterfalls, carved into the travertine. It’s a little-frequented place, easy to reach, and with a history of legends that doesn’t hurt.
Where is it located
The lake is located just north of Sellano, a municipality in Valnerina included among the most beautiful villages in Italy. The town is perched on a limestone ridge, with narrow alleys and open views over the valley, where the Vigi torrent has dug a deep gorge over the centuries. In the 1960s that gorge was blocked to power a hydroelectric power plant in the Ponte Sargano area, near Cerreto di Spoleto.
The surrounding landscape has remained largely intact: slopes covered with downy oak and holm oak in the driest sections, alders and willows along the water. The result is a cool place even in summer, with the noise of the river accompanying almost the entire route.
From the lake to the Rote waterfalls
The lake can be reached by following a short dirt path. A small pebble beach offers the first glimpse: the water is very clear, light-colored stones can be distinguished on the seabed, and where the Vigi enters the basin you can see lighter stripes cutting across the surface. On the banks there is an area for sport fishing and some accommodation facilities created from the buildings of the ancient hydroelectric power station.
The route to the Rote waterfalls starts from here. You walk between dirt roads and woods, almost always flat. Cross a small bridge over the Vigi, follow the signs for Setri and Peneggi, and come out on a meadow. A few dozen meters away, shielded by the trees, the waterfalls open up: three consecutive jumps in a narrow corridor between travertine walls, which end in a small basin of clear water. The meadow at the base is the right place to stop, take photographs and, when it’s hot, leave your feet in the freezing water.
The legend of the “Umbrian Loch Ness”
The Vigi originates on Monte Pizzuto, in the province of Macerata, and descends towards the Valnerina until it joins the Nera. Along the stretch between the lake and the waterfalls the water is well oxygenated and the fauna is surprisingly rich: it is not uncommon to see the kingfisher skimming the surface or the damselflies perching on the floating leaves.
The nickname “Umbrian Loch Ness” comes from the closed and somewhat gloomy atmosphere that the lake takes on on foggy mornings, and from the stories that have been circulating among the inhabitants for decades. There are those who talk about dark silhouettes in the reflections, those who talk about underwater movements that are difficult to explain. The more sober versions involve large carp or logs dragged by the current. Local folklore, however, prefers the idea of a serpent-like creature watching over the valley, and all it takes is one humid morning with little light for even a simple fish leap to seem like something worth talking about.
How to get there
From Rome you travel along the Terni-Spoleto axis, then you deviate towards Cascia and Norcia: about halfway along the route you find the crossroads for Borgo Cerreto, from which you go up to Sellano. At the entrance to the village, a steep descent on the left leads to the valley floor and is marked by a sign for the lake.
From Foligno instead follow the Statale 77 Val di Chienti, then deviate towards Rasiglia and Valnerina up to Sellano. In the valley floor there are spaces to park and walk to both the lake and the entrance to the path to the waterfalls.
The best time to come is between spring and late summer. In spring the water is abundant and the meadows around the waterfalls are in bloom; in summer the lake offers natural coolness. A couple of days are enough to see the lake, waterfalls and the village of Sellano, with the possibility of adding a stop in Rasiglia or in some other less frequented corner of the Valnerina.
