Gnarled driftwood, Mountain lake sunset

Hidden history

Until the mid-20th century, this site in the South Tyrol region of the Italian Alps was home to the village of Graun, which included some 163 homes. But in 1939, an electric company announced plans to build a dam and an artificial lake here, which would submerge Graun and part of the town of Reschen. Despite public outcry and delays due to World War II, the towns were eventually submerged in 1950 (with everyone safely removed, of course). These days, as well as the beauty of the lake itself, something extraordinary draws people here: A remaining 14th-century church steeple rising above the water.