The mighty dam that, blocking the course of the Arda, forms the artificial lake of Mignano was built between 1919 and 1934, on the side of the stream near the homonymous town of Mignano.
It is a strategic work for agriculture, soil protection and the rolling of flood events, for energy production and for the tourist enhancement of the valley area. Today the dam has a capacity of 12 million cubic meters.
To cope with any eventuality, the dam is equipped with devices to obtain complete flaring in a short time, which consist of three discharges (surface, intermediate or bottom).
The dam, with massive gravity of the Castilian triangular type, was made of concrete with arched blocks characterized by arcs of circle radius of 500 m drowned. The height of the work from the bottom is 64 m, the height from the riverbed 54 m and the thickness in the foundation 55 m. The crown is 340 m long and 6 m wide
The lake, located at an altitude of 341 m s.l.m. It is just under 3 km long, covering an area of 810000 m². The original capacity of the lake was 15.15 million cubic meters, then reduced as a result of some safety requirements starting in 1969. Following the work carried out on the reservoir after 1996, the capacity of the lake is equal to 11.8 million cubic meters.
The average depth of the lake is 16.05 m, while the maximum is 45.3 m. The catchment area underlying the lake covers 87.2 km², equal to 40% of the entire basin of the Arda stream and 80% of the mountain portion of the basin.
Tables and benches allow a picnic stop with an enchanting view.
