Lost Italian village emerges from lake after 70 YEARS – abandoned by 100s of people during ‘intentional sinking’

A 'LOST' village has emerged from an Italian lake after 71 years under water.

Curon is a village in north Italy that was purposefully drowned in 1950 to become a reservoir for a hydro-electric plant.

The lake usually looks like this
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The lake usually looks like this
It's been dredged for maintenance work
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It's been dredged for maintenance work
The homes were drowned in 1950
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The homes were drowned in 1950Credit: Luisa Azzolini

The reservoir is known as Lake Resia and normally the only sign of the 163 lost homes beneath it is a 14th-Century church tower that protrudes above the surface.

Temporary draining at the lake has revealed the former alpine village, which was flooded despite protests from residents.

It was flooded when a dam was built to merge two natural lakes and create the local hydro-electric plant.

Lake Resia soon became a tourist attraction in its own right due to the spooky abandoned church tower sticking up in the middle.

The remains of buildings can be seen under rubble and mud
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The remains of buildings can be seen under rubble and mudCredit: Luisa Azzolini
Locals and tourists can walk over the rubble
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Locals and tourists can walk over the rubbleCredit: Luisa Azzolini
The old church tower is currently on dry land
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The old church tower is currently on dry landCredit: Luisa Azzolini
The lake has become a tourist attraction in its own right
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The lake has become a tourist attraction in its own rightCredit: Alamy

Around 1,000 people were displaced when the village was purposefully flooded in 1950.

About 400 of those created a new village nearby while the rest are said to have moved away.

The past has now been dredged to life once more as repairs at the site have revealed quite eerie remains.

Curon village in Italy's northeastern South Tyrol used to look like this before the flooding in 1950
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Curon village in Italy's northeastern South Tyrol used to look like this before the flooding in 1950Credit: Alamy

Tourists and locals have been able to walk over the site and that's resulted in some cool photography.

Some great examples can be seen on Instagram account luisa2506 which shows some spooky buildings and rubble.

The Instagram belongs to a local called Luisa Azzolini who has also been tweeting the amazing images.

Locals have been walking among the old structures
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Locals have been walking among the old structuresCredit: Luisa Azzolini
Some of the building remains are quite eerie
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Some of the building remains are quite eerieCredit: Luisa Azzolini

The Italian village bordered Austria and Switzerland and a lot of the residents didn't speak or read Italian.

This was problematic when an Italian notice was put in the the village informing residents there homes would be drowned by 22 metres.

The village was originally in Austria before a border change after the First World War
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The village was originally in Austria before a border change after the First World WarCredit: Luisa Azzolini

German was the first language of many people in the area of South Tyrol where the lake is located.

This is because South Tyrol was part of Austria before the First World War.

The flooding plans were revealed in 1940, according to The Times, giving residents a decade to decide where to go.In other news, hundreds of rock tombs have been unearthed by archaeologists in Egypt.

The mystery surrounding the age of the Cerne Abbas Giant may have finally been solved.

And, scuba divers found a huge 50 pound mammoth bone in a Florida river.

What are your thoughts on the 'lost' village? Let us know in the comments...

In other news, hundreds of rock tombs have been unearthed by archaeologists in Egypt.

The mystery surrounding the age of the Cerne Abbas Giant may have finally been solved.

And, scuba divers found a huge 50 pound mammoth bone in a Florida river.

What are your thoughts on the 'lost' village? Let us know in the comments...

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