Built in the mid-14th century along the course of the Reno River, The Chiusa di Casalecchio (BO) (Lock of Casalecchio) is the oldest hydraulic work in Europe still working.
It allows to derive a part of the river waters to exploit them artificially through an eponymous canal, which has contributed largely to the economic fortunes and hydraulic defense of the city of Bologna from the Middle Ages to the present.
The Chiusa is monumental: 160,45m long, 35,45m wide (in average) and 8,25m high. it stands almost in the middle of the Reno River course: 83km from its source (on the Mount delle Piastre, locality Pruneta, 900m above sea level) and 128km from Torre di Primaro where the river flows into the Adriatic Sea after crossing the plains of Bologna, Ferrara and Ravenna.
The Chiusa and the hydraulic works connected to it are the expression of a paleo-industrial technology of great monumental and landscape impact and should be considered as one of the most interesting and significant sites of "archeology of the waters" in Europe.
Emilia-Romagna Film Commission
Viale Aldo Moro 38 — 40127 Bologna
Phone: +39 051 5278753
Email: filmcom@regione.emilia-romagna.it
