Alessandro Torlonia's power plant

Soon after the draining of the lake, the Administration of A. Torlonia set up the exploitation of that very large area establishing the first plants, closely connected to the agricultural production of his estate: the sugar factory and the paper mill.

He had planned to build a small power plant to supply electric power to his factories.

It exploited the enormous quantity of water that flowed from the plain of Fucino to the river Liri. That plant was completed in the first years of 1900, and since then it had worked without interruption till the end of May 1944, when the German troops retreating from the front of Cassino, after dismantling all machines and equipments, blew it up.

It wasn’t rebuilt because, later on, a new power plant was made further downstream in the village of Canistro, and as it was connected to the plain of Fucino by means of a new underground tunnel, it was able to generate much more power because of the higher jump of the waters.

It is possible to see the feeder canal, partly underground, the housing of the three turbines with the escape canals that are at the level of the river, and the outflow of the waters in excess.

The place underneath was originally occupied by the powerful dynamos that generated the power and by its control panels. Now it can be easily reached by a flight of stone steps.

The power plant was totally destroyed by explosions: a lot of scattered stones can be found out even on the other side of the river.