Cascata delle Marmore is an amazing Roman achievement. No question that the Romans were big on plumbing, but they really went all out when they sculpted a monumental waterfall as a way of diverting and managing one watershed by taking advantage of another. What exists now is a reworking of the original "plumbing" in the centuries after Rome's decline.
However, it's now not only a tourist attraction of significance but part of the region's hydo-electric power production. The park is enormous and there's hiking access from several directions, including to the top side from near La Romita. Quite a bit of archaeology is found throughout.
Our group hustled from La Romita to get there early in order to stake out comfortable places to draw and do "wet on wet" watercolors of the cascade.
The concessions must open about 9 am, but the show actually begins at 10 am when the waterfall is turned on, suddenly producing a spectacular cascade with swirling, saturating mists all the way beneath the cafe's umbrella-covered tables. It was quite an event, and painting was mist-ifying. I seem to have misplaced my "wet on wet" effort, but here are some photos of the falls being turned on.
Here's a link: http://www.marmorefalls.it/?lang=eng. Do take time to read the short history page.
