Feral horses graze the shoreline, the wild horses of the Aveto: descended from work and farm animals abandoned decades ago, they now live entirely on their own in the wetland around the reservoir and draw naturalists, photographers and walkers. Because Giacopiane, at 1015 metres in the Val Sturla behind Chiavari, is not a lake at all: it is a dam from the 1920s.
What to see
There are two basins, set one above the other like a step: below Giacopiane lies the smaller lake of Pian Sapeio, and the drop between them serves to let the water fall and turn the head into electricity. The dam of the upper lake closes the southern side and carries an Art Nouveau tempietto on top, a detail you do not expect at this altitude; on the northern side a safety dam handles high water, while the lower basin is held by a barrel-vaulted dam. The whole scheme was built as part of the public works of the Fascist regime, to meet growing demand for power and to serve as a water reserve for the Gulf of Tigullio and, at times, for Genoa.
Around it opens a wide upland plain, closed off by geologically notable rock and beech woods; lower down the road runs through chestnut groves and fasce, the terraces wrested from the mountain by the old chestnut economy. From the more exposed points the view drops to the sea and, on clear days, reaches Corsica.
Visiting
The road climbs from Borzonasca and passes Sòria, Gazzolo, Devoti and Barca di Gazzolo. The lake area is closed to campervans and caravans and requires a permit from the Comune di Borzonasca, sold in the village bars: 5 euros per vehicle, plus 1 euro a day for anyone staying beyond 24 hours, a charge in force since 2010. On foot you can also come up from Bertigaro, at Villa Jensi, or from Temossi, at Montemozzo, following the waymarked paths. There is no drinking water and no equipped site: camping is informal, on the small meadows along the shore, where contained fires are allowed only when wildfire risk is low. The lake is a fishing reserve run by FIPSAS, stocked with trout and char.
Our editors' tip
Bring your own water, and stay off the muddy margins: there is dangerous quicksand in this lake, and that is not a figure of speech. If you have half a day more, the paths from here lead to Monte Bregaceto directly above the reservoir, to Prato Mollo with its magnetic Pietra Borghese, and to Monte Aiona and Monte Penna over in the Val d'Aveto. And reckon with company in mushroom season, when these woods belong to the pickers.