Lake Corbara and the Forello Gorge: Umbria's Grand Canyon

They call it the Grand Canyon of Umbria, and the nickname is not chosen lightly. The Forello Gorge is where the Tiber, on its way toward Lake Corbara, has carved into the limestone of the Amerini Mountains for millennia, creating vertical walls two hundred metres high, hanging woods clinging to the escarpments, and a silence that has the sound of water and wind.

The artificial lake that looks natural

Lake Corbara was created in 1963 by the dam that blocks the Tiber three kilometres from its confluence with the Paglia: a hydroelectric reservoir of 10-13 square kilometres that time and vegetation have made indistinguishable from a natural lake. The jagged shores reach into oak and holm-oak woods, olive groves descend to the water on the southern side, and in the upper part — the one facing the gorge — the vegetation grows denser and raptors circle lazily overhead.

The trek to Roccaccia

The best way to see the Forello Gorge is the trail that starts from Titignano — a medieval castle now converted into a farmstay — and reaches in about four kilometres the Roccaccia, a high point from which the view of the gorge is total. The route is easy, free, and almost always solitary. You can see the limestone walls reflected in the green water of the Tiber and, in spring, the downy-oak blossoms that scent the air.

Wildlife and caves

In the Tiber River Park area live deer, roe deer, and mouflon. The caves carved by water into the limestone — including Grotta Bella, which extends for 2,500 metres — have yielded Neolithic and Bronze Age artefacts, testament to ancient human presence. The caves are not tourist-developed and some are accessible only with local speleological guides.

How to get there

The lake is on the SS448, about 12 kilometres from Orvieto toward Todi. Access to the gorge is from the Titignano side, in the municipality of Orvieto. There are no accommodation facilities on the lake, but Orvieto and Todi are less than half an hour away.