A participatory meeting to envision the future of the Liri River and the removal of the Cesapresa weir by Rewilding Apennines.
A room full of people who deeply love the Liri river and share concern for the problems that threaten it, starting with pollution. This was the scene at the meeting held on 19 September in San Vincenzo Valle Roveto —an intense and highly attended event dedicated to Rewilding Apennines’ WildLyric project for the removal of the Cesapresa weir.
With engineer Bernardo Bartolomucci, technical consultant of Rewilding Apennines, we retraced the entire journey that has brought us to this point: from geological, environmental, and hydraulic studies, to the clearances from the Civil Engineering Office and the Aqueducts Consortium, and the hydraulic authorization from the Abruzzo Region. With great clarity and passion, Bartolomucci showed us the ‘before’ and helped us imagine the ‘after’ the removal of the barrier. An ‘after’ that is now very near: the works will begin on 23 September.
The engineer emphasized the hydraulic aspects of the study, explaining that the removal will have no negative impact on nearby infrastructure. On the contrary, the works will also include the reconstruction of the gabions protecting the railway—today heavily eroded by the river—using techniques that will ensure greater long-term durability
Alongside him was river ecologist Amilcare d’Orsi, also a consultant for Rewilding Apennines, who described the impact this intervention will have on the fish fauna and other river animals: species that today cannot overcome the obstacle will soon be able to freely repopulate the Liri. D’Orsi presented the species identified during ecological studies of the river: from the more common ones, such as the Italian barbel (Barbus plebejus), to the rarer and strictly protected ones, such as the rovella (Sarmarutilus rubilio) and the brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri). Species that in recent decades have suffered severe declines, partly due to river barriers. Fish, the ecologist reminded us, are now the most threatened species at the European level.
The team leader of Rewilding Apennines, Mario Cipollone, recalled that this is the second intervention after the removal of five barriers on the Giovenco River. A journey that is placing our organization increasingly at the heart of a European movement for river barrier removal—growing rapidly across the continent, though still only beginning in Italy. This is also why the Open Rivers Programme, which supports river restoration in Europe, continues to believe in us, funding this project with around €126,000. To this, it must be said, an additional €30,000 from Rewilding Europe was added, which made it possible to carry out the final design for the removal.
A special thanks goes to the mayor of San Vincenzo Valle Roveto, Carlo Rossi, who warmly welcomed the initiative; to the mayor of Morino, Roberto D’Amico, head of the Liri River Contract – Contratto di Fiume Liri; and to the other mayors of the valley who attended, including those of Balsorano and Civitella Roveto. Together with surveyor Gianni Petricca, technical manager of the Municipality of Morino and of the Liri River Contract, they spoke about the commitment of local administrations to restoring the river’s clarity, reducing pollution, improving riparian areas, and managing water sustainably.
There is still much to be done for the Liri, and this removal is only a small yet significant step within a broader perspective of rewilding. But the participation of a community that loves its river, the presence of so many mayors of the Valle Roveto, and the support of NGOs such as Rewilding Apennines demonstrate that by joining forces—step by step—it is possible to tackle even the most complex challenges.
For an Italy with healthier rivers, healthier communities, and an outlook always turned toward the future and the generations to come. As engineer Bartolomucci reminded us by quoting William Least: ‘The river smooths the world, loosens the solid things and carries them away. To it, our days are nothing but poplar pollen. People care about being smart, about having talent. To the river, continuity is enough.’”
