Lake of Ancipa in Troina

In the territory of the Municipality of Troina, in the province of Enna, extends the beautiful and characteristic Ancipa Lake also known by the name of Sartori lake.

It is a artificial lake positioned at 950 meters above sea level for a total area of ​​1,4 square km. In particular it is on the Nebrodi mountains almost on the border with the Municipality of Cerami, marking a sort of natural border between the provinces of Messina and that of Enna.

Description of Lake Ancipa in Troina

Lake Ancipa in the Troina area is of an artificial nature created thanks to a dam called San Teodoro which allowed to block its natural outflow to the Troina torrent. The dam was built exclusively with the aim of producing electricity to meet the needs of a large part of the Sicilian territory. The construction of this work was carried out in the first years of post-World War II reconstruction, in particular between 1950 and 1952, making it possible to obtain a reservoir with a capacity of over 30 million cubic meters of water. The works were punctuated by a series of disastrous events that slowed everything down, involving quite a few critical issues such as the position of firedamp, the famous odorless and colorless combustible gas, which unfortunately involved as many as 13 victims, some of which were caused in the dramatic attempt to save your friends and colleagues.

The water of this lake has been used not only for the needs of the hydroelectric plants, but also for agricultural ones because it allows to irrigate the crops that are located nearby and to fulfill the needs of the communities (a total of 13 municipalities) as regards the 'drinking water.

The latest interventions, flora and fauna: Lake Ancipa

In recent years, to secure this naturalistic beauty from seismic shocks, renovations have been carried out, in particular with buttresses to strengthen the entire body of the dam. This was also the occasion to modify some specific characteristics bringing the maximum capacity of the reservoir up to 50 million cubic metres. In this way, all the potentialities are improved both as regards the production of electricity and for the drinking water needs of the whole territory. However, this work is not only beautiful and important from an economic point of view, but also for its scenic beauty with beech woods alternating with downy oaks with a wide variety of animals. This led to the creation of a real one Ancipa Lake Park also due to the commitments of Legambiente which obtained the management of 17 hectares of land, for the purpose of organizing hiking trails to allow people to have direct contact with this beautiful nature.

What to see in Troina

In the territory of Troina there are other cultural and scenic tourist beauties that can be included in an itinerary. First of all, you can let yourself be conquered by the magnificent Cathedral of Maria Santissima Assunta whose original plan is even dated to the XNUMXth century. It is a structure in which there are elements of Norman, Aragonese, Baroque style, remembered by a great character of Sicilian history such as Roger I of Sicily known as Ruggero I d'Altavilla. Among other physical and religious buildings worth visiting are I Ruderi del Basilian monastery of San Michele Arcangelo, Church of the College of Maria Addolorata of the eighteenth century, the Church of St. George, of Saint Lucia and many others. There are numerous civil and military architectures such as the Roger's Norman castle or medieval bridge of Contrada Failla e Sollima Palace.

How to reach Troina

By car:, to reach Troina coming from Palermo it is necessary to travel 170 km in about 160 minutes. In particular, you must first travel a large stretch of the E90 road and then enter the A20/E90 (about 95 km) and finally follow the SS117 and the SS120. For those coming from Enna instead, the journey is much shorter because 81 km are needed to be covered in 90 minutes. In this case you have to follow the provincial road SP4.

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